


Only thing I won't be able to beat is time...

by PinkRambo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Death, Canon-Typical Powers, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Porn, Eventual Sex, F/M, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Gunshot Wounds, I can't stress how much of a slow burn this is, Please see first chapter for notes and changes, Slow Burn, Tags to be editted as needed, Vaginal Sex, sex to feel alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 84,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkRambo/pseuds/PinkRambo
Summary: Steve needs to learn he can trust people because not everyone is trying to hide things from him, and this new member might be just what he needs.----This is Canon divergent, but follows the story line of the MCU pretty closely. Towards the end I fix a few loop holes and issues I had with the story. Hope you enjoy!COMPLETED!Infinity War Fight chapter now includes art!
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 65
Kudos: 38





	1. Profile

**Author's Note:**

> Just a note for all those reading this: I have an idea in mind for what Lisa is like, for what she looks like. However, I've structured this like a reader fic written in the 3rd person, without giving too much description of what Lisa looks like. It'll allow you to be able to put yourself into the story if you so desire. 
> 
> First chapter is her superhero profile, then we'll dive into the story. 
> 
> This starts around Avengers: Age of Ultron, and continues forward from there. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

CODENAME: Sordes

NAME: Leonard, Lisa Marianne

DOCUMENT CITIZENSHIP: United States

PLACE OF BIRTH: New Haven, Connecticut

GENDER: Female

TITLE: Agent

HEIGHT: 5'6"

WEIGHT: 180 lbs

HAIR: Blonde

Eyes: Green

DOB: August 23

STATUS: Active

FAMILY: None, all deceased.

OCCUPATION: Construction Worker, Building Repair

POWERS: Earth based, including metals, ores and most earth based materials. Deals with large quanities only, unable to handle or manipulate smaller amounts. (She can shift iron I beams in buildings, but can't shift the shape of Captain America's Shield or Ironman's Suits)

CHALLENGES: Will always do what's right, even if it will break the law. Has a fear of impermenancy. Has little skill in covert ops.

DESCRIPTION: Average height, short haired blonde, Lisa is toned from all the years she spent as a construction worker, using her powers to help speed up her crew's work. She's got tattoos, following a guardian theme on her body, along with a few scars from her own adventures growing up. She likes to keep a low profile, and doesn't care to be put in the spotlight. 

BIO: She grew up in New Haven, and when she discovered her powers, talked to a family friend about working for him. They gave her a trial run, and worked with her to get her ready for the work, helping her explore her powers a bit more. When the son, Randy Moore, took over the company, he kept Lisa on the payroll, and the pair became inseperable from each other, always working to create the safest buildings they could. They were best friends, and as close as siblings. He supported her through hard times, and she did the same for him. Up until she went missing out of nowhere due to [REDACTED]


	2. Sokovia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fall out from Ultron's actions

“You never called that nurse did you?”

Steve looked over at Natasha with that passive look he constantly maintained. It always left him looking like he had smelled something bad or foul, but it was just his way of maintaining distance. 

“Actually I did. We went on a few dates when we could. Didn’t work out.” Steve tossed his feet up on the coffee table, shoes toed off and set right next to each other and he settled back on the couch, arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. 

His vision was obscured by Natasha’s face as she leaned over him. “Steve what are you looking for in a girl?”

“What does it matter?”

“You deserve to be happy, especially after all this time and sacrifice you’ve given.”

Steve scoffed softly. “Nat, I had the perfect girl. I had my best gal. And then she grew old without me. Got married, had kids. I can’t do that again. What we’re doing… I can’t put someone through that torment again.” The words went unspoken, but they hung in the air between them anyway:  _ It’s not fair to her or me to do that to them. _

Natasha threw her hands up and walked away, as Steve closed his eyes to relax back to doze. He felt able to relax around her, and she was the same. She moved around the kitchen and made them food while he napped. 

When Natasha called him for dinner, he got up and went to eat with her. Sam and the others were out on a mission and it was just the two of them for dinner. The conversation rolled around various topics and always seemed to keep rolling back around to his interests and what he enjoyed doing as well what it was about Peggy that really attracted him to her. Steve eventually gave a grimace and glared at her. 

“Nat, please, just drop it. If it happens, it happens. I’m not going to seek it out.” He said slapping his hands on the table. She put her hands up in defense and sighed.

“Sorry Steve, I’ll let it go.”

“I appreciate you trying Natasha, but we can’t keep dragging innocent people into the things we’re doing.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes before she shook her head. She didn’t agree, but she also knew more about living double lives than he did. And it was hard for the world’s most honest man to lie to someone he was going to try and build a life with. So it was going to have to be someone already in their world. There was no other choice for it. Because Steve wasn’t going to stop being Captain America anytime soon.

* * *

Mind manipulation was strange. It affected everyone differently. For Lisa it left her feeling like she had to follow orders of a sentient robot, something that wasn’t too particularly strange since she knew who Tony Stark was. Everyone knew who Tony Stark was. But she kept doing what he told her to do, because it sounds right. It sounded like it was the best option. The most logical thing to do. So she helped him shape his factory. Build the hole that went straight down the core of Sokovia.

And the day the Avengers came to stop him, her mind was clear for the first time in weeks. And she remembered everything. Every move she made, every thing she had done to help him and her guilt knew no bounds. She felt terrible. So she started to help. She helped keep people safe as they fled from the things that were falling. Lisa used her abilities to stabilize the buildings, something she had been doing before she had been persuaded to come here. 

People were running, somewhere, anywhere that could be deemed safe. She found herself near the bridge where Captain America was talking to Thor and Ironman through his comms. Lisa pressed herself back against the building, panting softly. If they caught her, would they believe that she wasn’t here of her own will? But as the helicarrier showed itself from stealth, she knew she would just have to try and help. Whether they believed her or not. 

People were starting to stream towards the shuttles and she helped get them there, her eyes locking with Steve’s for just a moment before she had to pull a barrier up to protect herself from one of Ultron’s army. She had to run, and some of the army followed her, but she was able to protect herself as she helped people get to the square for Captain America and the Avengers to save. 

Lisa made her way back to the city square once she had run out of people to find, and was helping with her back to the direction she had come from. Steve ran towards her, seeing the robots coming up behind her, yanking her out of the way of a shot coming right for her. She had stumbled and rolled after he had let her go, but she was back on her feet, throwing a barrier up to protect the man that had protected her. He looked like he wanted to say something, heard something in his comms, and instead gave her a quick salute before running off to keep fighting. He unspokenly gave her control over the city square to help the Avengers Agents and she managed to get people into the shuttles. She was tired at the end of the day, and he didn’t see her again for months because once she was back onto American soil, she went home and disappeared back to her life. 

It wasn’t until after everything Ultron had done had been taken care of and the Avengers were officially a team that he found her again. Steve sought her out because he knew that she would be put on a list, the agents had mentioned her in their reports and it hadn’t taken them long to find out exactly who she was. She was working in a construction crew to help rebuild Washington after everything that happened to the city after the Hydra attack against SHIELD. 

“Hey Leonard! Come on down here, someone wants to talk to you!” The woman poked her head out from the 10th floor where she was helping repair the infrastructure.

“You got it Randy! Be down in a sec!” She called back before she stepped out onto the side of the building and literally walked straight down the building along one of the steel beams until she was on the ground. She was dressed in typical construction gear, with a hard hat, safety gear and a tool belt. Heavy overalls for comfort and safety, as well as long sleeve plaid button up that had the sleeves rolled up. Her hands were dirty but that was to be expected. “What’s the word Randy?” She asked as she stood in front of the foreman. 

The man gestured to the entrance of the construction site where a man was standing in a sweater with his ball cap pulled low. “He wants to talk to you.” 

“I don’t have to tell you how sketchy he looks right?”

“Lisa I wouldn’t send you to talk to him alone if I didn’t think you could handle yourself, or I didn’t trust him. I trust him, and I’m pretty sure you can handle yourself against him, so go talk to him. You’ll be fine.” He said, patting her shoulder before he walked towards the building, shouting orders up to the men working to make sure everything was progressing as it should. 

Lisa pulled a bandana from her pocket and tried to clean her face and hands off as much as she could. “Hey, foreman said you wanted to talk to me. What can I do for yah stranger?”

The man in front of her raised his head and tipped his ball cap back. “O-Oh, you’re…”

He put his fingers to his lips to quiet her. “Yeah. I wouldn’t normally ask for others' help in these sort of matters, but I think you should know of something that’s coming. Your involvement, though minor, was noted during the Ultron issue.” 

Lisa’s eyebrows rose and she looked immediately concerned. “What’s the problem then?”

“There’s a lot to talk about. Can I buy you a cup of coffee while we talk about this?” He asked. 

“So it’s a big problem. Give me 15 minutes to get changed, I’ll let Randy know I’m knocking off for the day.” Lisa said as she gave him a short little salute. It took her less than fifteen minutes to get changed, wash her hands and let Randy know she was leaving early that day. Given who it was that was asking her to have coffee, Randy wasn’t going to argue. 

Lisa tossed her bag onto her shoulder and walked with Steve towards the local coffee shop. She didn’t order a coffee, but let him pay for her smoothie at his insistence. They grabbed a corner table and looked more like a couple in deep conversation then Captain America and an enhanced fighter. Lisa listened attentively to what Steve was telling her before she leaned back and sighed. 

“So let me get this straight. Because I wanted to help people and protect them against a threat that would harm them, that I admittedly had a hand in, I’m now on a list for The Avengers and they want to keep an eye on me?” She asked, her hands together and pressed to her lips. 

“It’s a simplified version of it yes, but that’s basically what it will boil down to.” He said nodding. 

“And my only option is to join the Avengers, so that I’m not targeted by anyone else?” 

“Yes.” 

Lisa rubbed the side of her face as she looked down at her smoothie that was half gone. She inhaled softly, held her breath for a moment before she exhaled just as slowly. “So what’s the plan then Mr. Rogers?”

“Well I don’t want to ask you to put your life on the line…”

“But you don’t have a choice. You have to ask because you’re going to fight to keep the world free.” 

Steve gave a small shrug and sighed softly. “Yes… I hate to ask Miss Leonard but will you help me?”

Lisa grinned a little bit and spread her hands. “Captain America asking me for help? How could I say no?”

“Well... you literally could just say no.” He replied, with that deadpan expression on his face.

“I….You can’t be serious with that reply Mr. Rogers.” She asked, her hands going around her smoothie again. 

“I’m not serious Miss Leonard. I know you’re helping me.” He grinned at her, and she smiled right back at him. 

“You realize I don’t have a fancy suit right?”


	3. The Newest Avenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens to Lisa in a short amount of time... but she'll trust Captain America no matter what is happening.

Her suit wasn’t fancy but it was serviceable. And it worked pretty well all things considered. She could use her powers without restriction, her movements were fluid and she felt more at ease with the ability to hide her identity. It came with a filtering mask, which was helpful since she was usually surrounded by dust and debris. It was all clothing that she put together from things that Natasha had laying around. So some of it was bulletproof but most of it needed some work, but it would protect her from most impacts. She had tested it. To be fair she tested it with Sam Wilson, and not Steve Rogers, but it worked well enough. It was mostly green, with a little black for accents. 

Her introduction to the other Avengers was awkward at best besides Sam. She had waved and smiled at them a little and was more than a little starstruck, just like she had been meeting Captain America. Except for Wanda who she was immediately faced with when she arrived for her first day of training. 

“You...You’re the reason I was in Sokovia that...day….” Lisa’s hands clenched tight into fists and the others could hear the metal creaking in the building. “You’re the reason I have trouble sleeping… Those people I couldn’t save…The people I put in danger...” Steve’s hand went to Lisa’s shoulder and blocked her sight by standing in front of her. Wanda looked incredibly apologetic for what she had done, but that didn’t change what Lisa was feeling towards the other woman. 

“Hey, relax. I wouldn’t have asked you to face her if I thought she still posed a threat to you. She’s realized her mistakes and helped up against Ultron, just like you did.” Steve looked at her carefully, watching what she was going to do. Her foot shifted, and the groaning of metal stopped. “She’s here to help, just like you are.” 

Lisa looked up at Steve and sighed. She closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with this, I’m just not going to push it right now.” 

Steve smiled at her. “Thank you. I hope I can help you both move past this.” 

Lisa’s eyes opened. “Weren’t we supposed to be training?” 

* * *

Lisa trained but she was nowhere near ready for any sort of high profile missions, so she never got sent on one. However within four months of joining the Avengers on a training basis, she had been sent on various repair missions, using her abilities to repair buildings as much as she could before the contracted construction company moved in to fix the inside of the building. Even though she didn’t need the supervision, Rhodes had been sent along with her for her own protection, just in case something went wrong. Once she was finished what her powers would help with, she shifted the earth flat again, before she moved to stand next to Rhodes, hands on her hips as she regarded the building. 

“That’s real handy… what do you prefer to be called anyway?” He asked, glancing over at her. 

“Well they said that they were testing out Sordes as my code name… Could go with that, see if it’s going to stick?” 

“Alright then Sordes. What does that mean anyway?”

“Latin for dirt. Since all of my power has to do with the earth… it made the most sense. Hang on…” Lisa stepped forward and called up to the crew. “How’s it going up there!?” 

“We’re good up here Sordes, double checked, you’re clear to go!” The foreman called back down to her as he leaned out an open window. She waved to him, and turned back to Rhodes. 

“You riding or flying?” she asked as she walked over to the bike that she had been loaned before she pulled the jacket on. 

“I’ve got the suit. I’m flying.” He got into his suit before their helmets connected. 

“How long have you known Mr. Stark?” She asked as she kick started her bike before she rode towards the airport where they had stored the quinjet. 

“Years. He’s been a pain in my ass, but I wouldn’t have it any other way with him.” Rhodes replied as he kept pace with her bike. 

“That seems to be the general consensus about Mr. Stark.” 

“He’s gonna tell you to call him Tony.” 

“I don’t know him well enough to call him Tony.” 

“Won’t matter.” Rhodes laughed, and she gave a nervous sort of returned chuckle. 

“Sort of off topic, but Tony’s asked if you have any sort of formal clothing with you at the compound.” 

“Not that I can recall… why?”

* * *

When they landed back at the compound, Lisa had her jacket over her shoulder as he walked next to Rhodes. Natasha, along with a few other female employees were waiting for her. “Come on Lisa, we’ve got something for you.” Lisa’s eyes went wide and she frowned a little bit.

“What for?”

“It’s a surprise.” Natasha smiled as she strode forward. 

Lisa looked over at Rhodes who shrugged and grinned at her. “I’m not fighting her.”

Lisa immediately looked concerned and almost managed to run but Natasha grabbed a hold of her jacket before she pulled the woman back and threw her arm around her. “Oh no no no. I don’t think so. Let’s go.” 

For the next three hours, Lisa was given a makeover. Hair, makeup, the whole nine yards. And despite how much she asked, she never got an answer about what was going on. They didn’t try to remove her callouses, but trimmed her hair, and got her makeup done, made sure she looked absolutely immaculate. 

Lisa put her foot down when they pulled out a small cocktail dress. “I will not put that dress on at all. Ever!” She glared at Natasha. 

Natasha grinned at her, and kept herself settled in the chair she was sitting in watching the other woman. “What’s wrong with it?”

Lisa held it up against her body. “It will barely cover my ass! Let alone leaving me incredibly exposed in the chest area. This isn’t who I am. And quite frankly, I want answers. You want me to go to something, dress up like a socialite for some strange training session, I want to know why. And I swear to god if you tell me it’s a surprise one more time, I’m going to bury you in the ground with just your head above the surface.” She snarled, before she crossed her arms and tapped her bare foot in her frustration.

Natasha laughed softly. “It’s a party. We all usually dress up for them. Tony doesn’t like it if we look like we’re the poor relations here.” 

Lisa narrowed her eyes. “Got a different dress?”

“Yes.” 

Natasha stood up and pulled out a hi-low short sleeved dress in dark emerald green. “Better?” 

“Much. Hand it over.” She held her hands out, tossing the minidress off to the side before she started pulling the dress on. It felt nearly perfect, and Natsha helped her get it tightened up. Then Natasha was pulling on her own dress, and held out a pair of black pumps to go with her dress. Lisa slipped them on, and smoothed her dress down. “Miss Romanoff....”

“Natasha or Nat, please.” 

“Okay, Nat. Are we sure this is okay?” Lisa asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Natasha looked at her carefully. 

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

* * *

Lisa walked towards where the party was being held, with Natasha at her side. The doors were closed, but she could hear the music that was being played in the other room. The doors opened and Tony stepped out, Steve following him. They shut the door behind them, seeing Natasha and Lisa there. Tony held two drinks in his hand, and both of the men were dressed in slacks and dress shirts. Tony’s shirt was open a couple buttons, but Steve’s was done up, with a tie on.

Tony grinned, holding out a drink to Lisa. “You ready?” 

“It’s a party right?” Lisa asked, as she took the glass from Tony. 

Steve glanced at Tony and Natasha. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Nope. Ruins the surprise.” Tony grinned. 

Natasha shook her head. “Only told her it was a party.” 

Lisa was about to sip from the glass when she paused. “Okay someone tell me what the fuck is going on, or I’m sorry Mr. Stark, Mr. Rogers, Nat, I can and will turn around and go to my room and lock myself in for the night.” She crossed her arms, and stared at the three of them in front of her. 

Tony leaned back against the doors, and looked at Steve. “It was your suggestion. You tell her.” 

Steve nodded, and smiled at Lisa. “This is your introduction as one of the Avengers. Officially you’re part of the roster.” 

Lisa gripped the glass, and she looked at the three of them like they had suddenly grown additional heads. “You’re kidding. This is a joke.” She didn’t ask them as questions, merely stated them.

“No. This is real. You’re officially an Avenger after we do the press conference, which is happening as soon as you walk through those doors.” Steve said, watching to see if she was actually going to run or not. 

“I don’t have anything prepared for the press conference.” Lisa spoke before she watched Natasha pull out a series of cue cards. Lisa took them and read them over, nodding as she sipped on the drink in her hand.

“Okay. But I swear, you  _ ever _ do this to me again, and I will leave you high and dry. Do you understand me? I don’t really care for surprises like this.” She said before she finished the drink and nodded. “I’m ready.” She smiled at them, before they turned to the door and opened them, all four walking through them together. Tony led her towards the set up stage, where Rhodes and Sam were waiting. They both smiled at her, and she smiled back. She stopped next to Rhodes, as Tony went up to start his introduction. 

“Rhodes, if you knew about this, I swear to god…”

“Everyone knew about it. Everyone but you. It was supposed to be a surprise.” 

“A surprise birthday party is a surprise. This almost feels like railroading.” She replied, as she folded her hands in front of her with a smile. 

Sam laughed. “I told y’all that she wouldn’t like this.” 

“It is my greatest pleasure to announce our newest member to the Avengers, Sordes!” Tony gestured to the side and Lisa strode up the steps and was soon in front of the cameras. She read off the cue cards, fielded a few questions, refused to answer anything about her personal life, and Tony took over answering the questions, while she stood next to him. Once it was done, the reporters were escorted out and the party got into full swing. 

Steve found her at the bar, with a beer in hand. “You did good up there.” 

“I think I was too stiff, the reporters looked like they wanted nothing more than some very personal details.” Lisa sipped on the beer before she slid onto the seat she was next to. Steve took up a seat next to her. 

“That’s reporters for you though. You did great.” He gently patted her shoulder before he was handed a beer as well, and Lisa was given a refill. 

“Thanks Mr. Rogers.” she smiled at him, before they clinked bottles and turned to look at the party. “I’ll be honest, this is extremely overwhelming.” 

“I know Miss Leonard. Tony doesn’t do anything in half measures.” Steve sipped, before he glanced over at her. “An hour. You wanna leave after an hour, I’ll help you make your excuses.” 

Lisa thought for a moment before she nodded. “Deal.” 

For the next hour, her and Steve walked around, with him doing the introductions, and making sure that she wasn’t alone. She smiled, made polite conversations, and drank. She lost track of time, coming to enjoy the party and talking with various others. If Steve wasn’t next to her, it was Sam or Rhodes, occasionally Natasha. She was standing next to Tony when she realized how late it was and how many people had already filtered out to go home. 

“So I gotta ask, was it worth it Lisa?”

Lisa smiled a little bit before she drained her beer. “Yes. Thank you Mr. Stark, this was a great way to join you all as an Avenger.” She grinned wide, and he nodded, patting her shoulder quickly. 

“I knew it. Now, stop calling me Mr. Stark, that was my father. Call me Tony.” 

“I’ll try. And that’s the best you’ll get.” Tony grinned at her, and nodded. 

“It’ll have to do for now then.” 

* * *

Lisa had been on another rebuilding mission when the crew went off after a Hydra unit in Nigeria. She heard about it after she had returned, and the news was all over the Avengers, and specifically Wanda. She sat in on the meeting with the Secretary of National Defense who told them that the accords were going to stop them from being able to help those that needed it without proper authority. She did give her opinion on the list when she was asked, but her opinion didn’t hold much sway. She wasn’t some sort of prolific hero, she was small change in comparison to the people that sat in the room discussing it all. 

When the accords went through all hell broke loose. A UN meeting that was hammering out the details with the accords and regulations that would restrict hero’s work was blown up. Lisa wasn’t there for that one, but Steve was in the area for a funeral. And his involvement in the ensuing situation didn’t go unnoticed. 

Lisa was off meeting with a few other natural born enhanceds in Europe because she looked harmless, and the few things she had been involved with the Avengers had been clean up, which made her approachable. She wanted to be of as much help as she could be.

But when the news reports all started to go through, she just tried to disappear again. She wasn’t very good at it, but she tried. 

She messaged Steve, trying to get a hold of him. She needed to know what was going on. The Avengers team could track her suit, she knew that, and while she waited for Steve to let her know what was going on, to let her help, she tore it apart till she found the tracker and trashed it. She got a call from a burner phone that only gave her a very short message with an address, and then it went dead. She took a roundabout way to get to the location, and managed to lose the tail that had been on her.

When she arrived, she didn’t think about where she was entering, too concerned to be sure Steve and Sam were okay before she was grabbed by the throat and bodily thrown into the steel mill by a distinctly silver hand. She rolled and got to her hands and knees, ready to manipulate the steel in the building when she saw Steve holding the man back. Sam was halfway to her when she had stood up.

“Buck, she’s on our side.” Steve looked at her with an apologetic expression. “Please forgive him, it’s been a rough few days.” 

Lisa got back to her feet, brushing her clothing off and slammed her foot down on the floor, resettling the metal in the building from where she had bent it in preparation to defend herself. “No problem. I’m just lucky that didn’t go further. It would have been bad for everyone in the building. What happened Captain?” She asked, tugging her top back into place properly. 

“I wish I had time to explain, but we have to go. Now.” 

Lisa paused, before she nodded. “My vehicle, it’s small, but it’ll work. I wasn’t banking on two super soldiers and Sam to be in it.” she said as she held up the keys. “Plus it’s pretty late in the day. We should find a place to stay for the night, abandoned and untraceable. Then you can tell me what’s going on. Because, pardon the language, I’m fucking confused.” 

Steve grinned and shook his head. “We’ll make it work. Mind if I drive?” 

Lisa shook her head and tossed him the keys. They piled into her car, and she settled into the backseat behind Steve with Bucky on the other side and Sam sitting shotgun. 

“Buck this is Lisa Leonard, she helped us out in Sokovia, and is one of the Avengers. Lisa, this is my best friend Bucky. You may know him better as Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.” Steve said as he pulled the hat lower.

Lisa smiled and waved at Bucky who had turned to look at her. He looked back at Steve before returning his gaze to her. “Sorry for throwing you around the mill.” 

Lisa couldn’t stop the next words coming out of her mouth anymore then she could stop breathing. “I mean next time just ask. I’d probably say yes.” It took her a moment of him staring at her with a surprised look on his face to realize she had something incredibly inappropriate and even Steve was looking at her strange. “Ah… I did the oversharing thing again didn’t I…?” She asked before she pressed her lips together and grimaced. “Right, not used to modern day frankness. While there is nothing that I can do to remove that awkwardness, it’s nice to meet you Sergeant Barnes. Oh my god SAM SHUT UP!” She reached forward and shoved Sam’s shoulder as he roared with laughter at her comment.

Bucky cleared his throat before he shook his head. “Call me Bucky or Barnes. Everyone else has been.” He said as he turned to face forward again. Lisa hit her thighs softly as she felt so incredibly foolish for the comment. She had embarrassed herself in front of Captain America and Sergeant Barnes, and there was absolutely no coming back from that. They were never going to forget it, and she was never going to be able to get her respect back. 

“So what’s going on? What happened that we have to run from the others?” She asked, gripping her hands together, trying to get theconversation onto what had happened. 

And then it was a three hours explanation as they drove to meet up with someone who was helping them. She asked questions as appropriate but mostly just listened to what he was telling her. “Okay. So you’re basically telling me that we’re on the run from the other half the Avengers. Who are trying to bring us in for not complying with the orders to turn Serg...Uh.. Bucky over. Because of your gut feelings that say that Bucky isn’t guilty. Do...Do I have that right?” She asked with a frown. 

Steve shrugged as he was driving. “Basically.” 

“Well shit, I didn’t think I would ever fight against some of the Avengers, but since I’d rather not sign the Accords, I guess that’s where we’re at.” She slouched in the seat and watched the scenery pass them by. 

They made one stop, to pick up the guy’s gear. From a very pretty blonde that Lisa knew was Peggy Carter’s niece. Or at least that had been on the news before all of this had happened. Lisa watched what transpired, and heard Bucky ask Sam to move his seat up only to be replied with a no. So she suddenly had a very warm super soldier pressed up against her side as they watched Steve interact with the woman. The two guys looked really impressed with him, grinned as Steve kissed the other woman, and Lisa just turned her face away. It seemed like an intimate moment and she didn’t need to be involved in it. 

Once that gear was loaded into the car, with the shield seated at Lisa’s feet, she found them an abandoned house to stay in. It wouldn’t likely have any food, but there was a convenience store nearby and her and Sam would be able to go get something for them all to eat, since they were both a little less well known then Steve or Bucky. It didn’t take long for them to get into the abandoned house before her and Sam stealthed up and went to get something to eat. 

As soon as they were back, she got the food started and served as quickly as she could. Bucky looked at it skeptically but she gestured to it again. “Come on, I promise I didn’t do anything to it. Not a damn thing.” She smiled at him, as he smiled back at her. 

“Sorry, bad habits.” 

“I...well I won’t say I understand, because I really really don’t, but I empathize.” She turned to feed herself as she sat down at the table with the others. There was talk about the plan for the next day, but she kept to herself mostly. This wasn’t her area of expertise in the slightest, so she just listened, nodded when Steve or Sam suggested that she could help, and then settled into one of the chairs in the living room as everyone went to find a place to sleep. 

It was midnight, and quiet. It was strangely still, but she could hear Bucky sleeping in one room, which he was sharing with Steve, while Sam was sprawled out in another room. Lisa was sitting on the floor, with her eyes closed trying not to be worried. Trying to ignore her gut feeling that this was going to end badly. There was movement near her and she opened her eyes to see the blonde adonis that was Steve Rogers approaching her with two glasses of water. He handed her one and she shifted her feet so that he could sit down across from her. “How are you holding up?” He held the glass out to her. 

“I mean… this is a lot. A lot a lot. I never planned to be in the middle of a fight against others of the Avengers. I just wanted to maintain my freedom on my own terms...” She replied as she took the glass and sipped. 

“You mentioned before that Wanda had done something to you in Sokovia, and we haven’t really had a chance to talk about it...If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. It’s hard to share things sometimes… But I’m willing to listen if you want to.” He offered with a tilt to his head. He didn’t know what she had been doing there and had been dying to ask, but there hadn’t been a good chance with everything going on.

“She manipulated me to work for Ultron at the beginning before you all reached Sokovia. I was the reason he was able to get things… moving so fast. Myself and Harlow.” She stared at her hands, not wanting to look at the pity she was sure that was going to be on his face. “Wanda freed me the day you all showed up… but it was too late for me to be able to do anything to stop him. I had done my job too well.” She gave a small sad laugh, before it stopped as her chin was lifted to look at him. He drew his hand back to his lap as he watched her. The pity she thought would be on his face wasn’t there. He just looked concerned as if he had asked too much of her.

“I meant it that day in Washington. I don’t want to ask you to put your life on the line. I know how terrifying this can be…” He had to stop as she leaned forward and covered his mouth with her hand.

“No, stop that. Don’t give me speeches Captain, please. Just give it to me straight. Do you believe that this is what we should do?” She waited for his nod before she took her hand away, and wrapped both of them around the water glass again.

“Yes I do. I believe that this is the right thing to do. I’m only capable of doing the right thing.” He replied. 

Lisa sipped the water and sighed. “Then I have no fears going into this.” she smiled at him, before she reached out and put her hand on his forearm. “After all, you’re going to need the help. If Clint actually gets Wanda, we’ll have Vision to deal with. I’ll be able to help get you and Bucky where you need to go, and then hide. At least I’ll try to hide. I can’t say that I’ve had a lot of experience going to ground.” She grimaced giving a frown. 

Steve covered her hand with his. “I wish I could have given you more to work with in that regard… but I just don’t have the resources for you. It’s not my specialty… If something happens though, I will do my best to get you out. All you want to do is help people.” He smiled at her, before drinking from his glass. 

“Oh come on now, I couldn’t ask Captain America to break the law when if I’m caught, it will be the only thing I deserve to be taken in as a criminal.” she said with a small laugh. “But I appreciate the sentiment.” She finished off her water before she extracted her hand. “You should get some sleep Mr. Rogers. You’re going to need it.” Lisa stood and walked away before she paused, and moved back. He looked… stressed, sad, or unsure of what he was doing despite the words he had given her. So she wanted to make sure he knew that she appreciated him checking in on her given the situation. He had stood up when she had, and Steve looked down at her, and then gave a sharp inhale of surprise. 

Lisa wrapped her arms around his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re an amazing man Steve Rogers. And you’re doing the right thing. Sleep well.” She then pulled away, put her glass in the kitchen and hauled ass to her room before she could embarrass herself further. Steve watched her go with a confused but pleased look on his face. He lightly touched the shoulder she had rested her head on, and smiled as he went to get ready for bed.

In the morning they were all business. No ifs nor buts about it. Not a word was spoken about their conversation, or what happened between them. They just went on with the mission, exactly as intended. They met up with Wanda, Barton and Scott Lang who just couldn’t help himself when he introduced himself to Steve being an absolute fanboy. Lisa couldn’t help but laugh softly at his excitement which then got turned to her as he identified her too. 

“Oh, you’re Sordes!” He stepped up to shake her hand as well. “And Falcon, and the… Winter Soldier.” Scott paused, looking at Wanda as well. “I know you too, you’re great.” He turned his attention back to Steve as he brought them all up to speed with the plan. 

“I’ve got us a chopper. We just need to get there.” Clint said as he nodded to Lisa who gave a small smile and nodded back. It was the best they were going to get for introductions here. 

“We’ll get there, and then deal with this once and for all.” Steve nodded before he turned to the car. “Alright everyone, suit up.” The drive there was mostly quiet as they reviewed their parts of the plan. They needed to get Steve and Bucky to the chopper. If they were the only ones that got out, that would be okay. 

Everyone was willing to follow Steve no matter what he asked them.


	4. Civil War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Civil War fight, and getting arrested after.

The airport was mostly emptied. She wasn’t sure how they managed that… but then again Tony Stark did have quite a bit of influence. And he knew they were coming. It was clear that he knew when his team showed up to stop Steve from getting to the chopper. She was crouched next to Barton watching what was happening. Bucky and Sam were up in the airport watching as well. Wanda was near Barton and Lisa waiting for the order to go into the fight. 

There was plenty of talking, that they all heard through Steve’s comm unit. Lisa glared at the back of the hanger as she leaned her back against the crates. “I can’t believe that they believe that shit.” 

“They believe it’s right. Even if you disagree with them, you have to respect their conviction. Just like they should respect ours.” Wanda replied to her in a whisper. Lisa glanced back over the crates as Clint fired his bow to free Steve from the webbing that entangled his wrists and then Scott was throwing his shield back to him. 

“Cap, their Quinjet is in the North hangers, hanger 5.” Sam’s voice filtered into their comms. Lisa stood up properly before she ran forward with Clint and Wanda towards the fight. She kept careful eyes on everyone, pulling concrete up to protect herself from the shots Rhodes and Tony threw at her, or at others. She slid forward slapping her hand against the ground as she launched Steve up to bring Rhodes down to the ground for a moment. Steve slid down the earth that Lisa had brought up, and she brought it back down, fixing it as she went. She hated leaving damage behind her. 

She ran next to Steve for a bit before she peeled off to help Scott with Natasha. Lisa slammed her hands against the earth and tried to give Scott a way to escape only to find that her hands were stuck and webbed. Spiderman was looking down at her from a boarding ramp. “Oh that is so cool. You’re Sordes! Do you just shift earth or is it more than that?” He was so excited to meet another enhanced like himself. 

“Hey kid, I know you’re excited, but this is kinda life and death here. Do me a favor, ask me again later. I’ll answer it all later if we live through this.” She said before she shifted her foot and shot a sharp spike of earth up to cut the webbing from her hands. Spider man tried to secure her down again, but she managed to avoid him hauling earth up to protect herself before she managed to see where he was going right before she shot a pillar up and he slammed into it. 

Then she was moving on, running towards Wanda where she was standing off against Rhodes. She slid in next to Wanda, both hands on the ground as she created a box around Rhodes. “Go! It won’t hold him for long. Run Wanda, run!” She shoved the other woman towards the Quinjet hanger seeing Steve and Bucky making beelines for it. They were only a few steps away from Rhodes as he broke free and took after them. Tony was right next to him, and this looked like a losing battle. “We have to get the Quinjet, get moving everyone one!” 

Lisa was panting and tired. Using this much energy was exhausting. “Not this time Cap. We knew what this meant. If you have to leave us behind, do it. We’ll cover you.” Sam’s voice called to all of them, as the fight ranged on.

“No, that wasn’t the plan.”

“Plans change Cap. Do what you have to. You have larger issues then this right now.” Barton’s voice sounded strained as if he were being strangled. 

“We can handle this Cap. Go.” Lisa spoke up as she ran with Wanda, glancing behind her to see the face plate of War Machine nearly right in her face. “SHIT SHIT SHIT!” she said as she turned to the side at the last moment and he shot past her going up to come around again. Sam breezed by her, catching her raised hand and pulled her up to her feet and into the air. From there, he carried her closer to the fight, and let her drop near T’Challa and Bucky. 

She drew earth up between them, and pushed Bucky towards the hanger. “Go!” She said before her attention was focused on T'Challa again. She was hard pressed to keep him occupied and was thrown to the side, as Vision showed up. She rolled to her hands and knees, her vision swimming from the force that T'Challa had thrown her. Lisa staggered to her feet, watching Vision bring the control tower down on Steve and Bucky. She gave a small cry of distress, but heard both of them talking in her comm and breathed a sigh of relief. They were in the Quinjet and going… She couldn’t help deal with the flying units. It wasn’t her area of expertise. 

Her knees shook and she stumbled forward, falling to her knees. She was exhausted, but she had to try and fix some of this… some of it… She concentrated her powers, and managed to at least fix the tarmac before she fell forward and passed out.


	5. The Raft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa's friendship deepens with the others of Team Captain, and she listens to Steve talk about everything that happened while they were all on The Raft.

When she woke up, she was strapped with her hands against her chest, and her feet in plastic shoes. Matter of fact the entire cell she was in was made out of plastic. She stood up, and looked around, seeing some of the others. Most of them were out cold or asleep, but Sam was up and pacing. “Sam?” She called out. 

He immediately whirled around to look at her and moved up to the edge of his own cell. “Hey Lisa. You okay? You’ve been out of it pretty bad the last few days.” 

“I’m alright. Feeling a bit light headed.” 

“They couldn’t wake you up for meal times… so they had to do IV to make sure you didn’t die.” Lisa leaned her head against the cell door. “So you’re probably hungry.”

She groaned a little bit before she rubbed her face against her shoulder. “What did I miss?”

“Tony was in here earlier. Talking about something, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it.” He said, making sure he had her complete attention on him before he gestured to his ear and eyes. 

She understood the signal and then leaned against the wall before she slid down to sit on the floor. “Sam was that Lisa waking up?”

“Yeah Clint.” 

“Good. Hey Lisa, how are you feeling?” 

She could hear him, but not see him, so he must be in one of the cells next to her. “I’m okay. Probably will be better once they bring in some food for us. How is everyone else?”

“Wanda’s quiet, Scott’s been playing drums over in his cell, and Sam’s been pacing back and forth like a mother hen.” 

Lisa saw Sam flip Clint the middle finger and laughed softly. Despite being closed up in this cell, at least she was here with people who would keep her from going crazy. 

She settled in and talked to Clint through the wall, getting to know more about his kids, and Scott chimed in to talk about his daughter. Sam told them about his wing man, and Wanda mentioned that she had been growing close to Vision. Lisa shared her own stories of her family and her past. Admitted to her own awe at being at the Avengers complex and meeting the others. They kept their conversation away from Steve and what they had been doing so that he wouldn’t be in too much danger. 

It was nearly a month after she woke up, her arms still bound when the power went out in the prison they were in. The emergency lights kicked on in their cells so that they didn’t get lost, and then it was tense time waiting. No one knew what was happening, and they just had to wait. Not many knew where this facility was, so if it was being attacked it was likely going to be bad. Everyone was standing up, prepared for what was coming. 

There was a figure moving in the darkness, and everyone tensed up to be ready to fight back in case it was Hydra. 

But the tall blonde adonis that stepped out of the shadows and into the light of Sam’s cell was a welcome sight for all of them. “Steve!” “Cap!” “Rogers!” The chorus of all of them talking made him smile. He gave a small salute to all of them before he unlocked the cell that Sam was in and gave him the spare keycard. They worked together to free everyone else, and Steve stood in front of Lisa’s cell with a grin at her. “Hey Miss Leonard.”

“Hi Mr. Rogers.”

“I promised to come get you if you got caught.”

“And Captain America always keeps his promises.” Lisa grinned back at him. 

“When he can.” He said as he slid the keycard over the reader and her cell started to open. As soon as the door was free, she stepped forward, turning around to get help with releasing her arms. He helped free her before he got the other keycard to unlock their gear storage. Everyone gathered their gear before they ran for the door. Once they were outside the compound and on the boat, Steve had a bag of civilian clothing for them. They got out of the cell clothes and chucked them into the water as they sped off. 

Lisa stepped up next to Steve as the others were getting changed. “How’s Sergeant Barnes?” 

His hands gripped around the throttle a little tighter. “Recovering. Tony did a number on him.” 

Lisa leaned against the console as she regarded him with careful eyes. There were spots on Steve that looked like they were still healing. “Looks like he did a number on you too.” 

“I’ll live.” 

“How are you handling all this?’’ she asked, watching him. He looked hesitant to speak, but she glanced around them. Everyone was enjoying the fresh air and weren’t near them. “Look, I know it can be hard to share, but I’m here if you want to talk.” She smiled as she echoed the words he had said to her. 

He laughed softly and shook his head. “I suppose I did say that to you didn’t I?” Lisa reached out and laid her hand on his forearm like she had that night before the fight in Germany. 

“Yes you did Cap.”

“I don’t think I’m really Captain America anymore.” 

Lisa shrugged but left her hand on his forearm since it was now covered by his hand. “You’ll always be Captain America to me. You did what you thought was right… But if you prefer… I can call you something else?” 

“Mr. Rogers is a bit formal, would you be okay calling me Steve?” 

“I think I can manage that if you can call me Lisa instead of Miss Leonard.” She grinned up at him, and he smiled back.

“It’s a deal then.” 

Lisa removed her hand as Clint arrived up next to them, offering to take over driving so that Steve could relax for a bit. He and Lisa went to one of the benches and enjoyed the smell of the salt air.    
  
“This might be a lot, are you sure you want to listen?” Steve asked, sitting with one leg up on the bench and bent, his arm against the side of the ship. She mirrored his pose, and gently hooked their pinkies together for that familiar comfort, not just for him, but for herself as well. A month without human contact was rough. He didn’t shy away from it, he just let it happen. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.” She smiled at him, just enjoying being out of that box. “Talk away Steve.” 

So he did. He told her everything that had happened when they had gotten into the quinjet and left them behind. How Tony had shown up, giving them a truce to finish dealing with all of this. He shared with her what had happened at the compound, how Zemo had pitted them against each other, how they had been turned against one another because of something as simple as proof. He mentioned that he had left the shield behind with Tony incapcitated enough to give them enough of a lead to get out of there. Lisa listened quietly as he admitted to knowing who it was that had killed Tony’s parents, but also that we couldn’t blame someone under the control of Hydra’s mind control. 

She held her tongue, waiting for him to finish. He told her more, of the month it took planning their rescue, Steve chafing every day he had to wait for Bucky to be well enough for him to be left alone, and then for him to be able to plan the entire rescue to be mounted on his own. He told her that he felt like he owed her more than he could ever repay, her and the rest who all waited for him patiently on the Raft. He talked about how raw he felt, even before all of this because of what had happened. How Peggy had gone in her sleep, and he had to keep up that appearance of being okay when all he wanted to do was lay down and cry. As he started going further then what had happened between their arrest and now, she shifted their hands so that she held onto his hand better, for more contact. For comfort for both of them. But still, she said nothing. She let him talk, until he was finished. He told her how difficult he felt it was to be able to trust people, that his senses felt off more often than not except when it came to the Avengers, or Bucky. She would nod as she needed to, and when he finished, she was leaned forward towards him to give him her full attention.

Pulling back a bit, she watched as he also leaned back a little more. But she gave a surprised look at him as he cupped her cheek and brushed at tears she didn’t know were falling from when he had been talking. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to upset you Mis-... Lisa.” 

“I didn’t even realize I was crying. Steve, you haven’t upset me. You’ve given me a look into the man behind the shield, behind all that armor you have around you. And it’s a… very real look at a man who feels out of place, doesn’t know who to trust because the evil he fought in his day is the evil he’s still fighting now, so many years later. A man who gave everything to save his best friend, not once, not twice, but now three times. A man who without a thought, refused to let the Avengers be put under regulations so that we couldn’t be stopped from helping those that need it. A man who wants to break, but can’t let himself be weak.” Lisa smiled at him a little sad, before she reached up to cup his hand that was still against her cheek. 

Then she leaned forward and he met her halfway, resting their foreheads together. 

“I want you to know Steve, that even if you can’t trust anyone else in this world, you can trust me. I have only the best intentions, and I want to help you. I want to be able to support you because I believe in you.” Her eyes closed, and she just breathed, letting her words sink in. 

“You’re something else Lisa. I still regret that you have to run and hide now, but I am glad that I met you.” Steve pulled back and she smiled as her eyes opened. 

“Of course. However, unlike you, I regret nothing. If I had to make my choices all over again… they wouldn’t change. I would have been back in that cell for everything I had done.” She shifted back and took her hand away, letting his hand drop from her cheek. She stood up, keeping his hand in her other hand. “And Steve, know that you don’t always have to be strong with me. If you ever just need to let it out and cry? I won’t ask questions, I won’t judge you. I’ll just let you talk and cry and be your strength even just for a little bit. But I think Sam wants to talk with you and I’ve taken up more than enough of your time.” 

Steve smiled up at her, and brought the back of her hand to his lips. “Thank you Lisa.” She stepped away with a slight flush to her cheeks, and he let her hand leave his slowly. Sam immediately filled her empty spot and slapped his hand on Steve’s shoulder, happy to see his friend. Lisa headed up to talk to Scott, who was standing talking to Clint while he drove, with Wanda sitting off on her own near them.


	6. The boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but some short conversations between Team Cap after the Raft.

“You uh… you wanna explain what that was there Cap?” Sam asked as he flopped back onto the bench. Steve shifted how he was sitting so that they were shoulder to shoulder. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Sam.”

“Oh don’t give me that… You just spent the last twenty minutes in deep conversation with Lisa.” 

“We were just talking.” Steve was keeping his reactions under control and it was dark enough that he could play it off as wind burn if there was any hint of blush to his face.

“You don’t get that intimate and close with someone you’re ‘just talking’ to Cap. And I know you’re old, but men don’t kiss the back of women’s hands unless they’re interested.” Sam grinned as he stared up at the stars. 

“She offered to listen and given that before all of this… I had offered the same thing to her about Sokovia the night before the fight at the airport.” Steve shrugged as he looked up at the stars as well. “I know it was selfish, but I just… wanted to talk to someone who wasn’t super involved in all my past stuff. And that hand kiss was an old habit.” 

“I mean you could have talked to me at any time, but I get it. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone hold your hand, tell you they understand and just want to support you. It’s not selfish, it’s human.” Sam looked over Steve who looked over at him and they smiled at each other. 

“Thanks for understanding Sam.” He replied, patting Sam’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend.” 

“That’s what friends are for Cap. And you better not forget about it.” 

* * *

Lisa stepped up next to Scott, who put his arm around her shoulders without even thinking about it. “Cassie’s a good kid. I love her to pieces. I hope I get to see her again soon…” Lisa accepted the side hug and rested her head on his shoulder with a small sigh of contentment. It was nice to be able to hug someone again. 

“Yeah… I was thinking of remodelling the dining room. Go back into retirement. Spend more time with my family.” Clint replied as he glanced over at Lisa with a smile. 

“So wanna share what that was?” He asked her. 

Lisa looked up at Clint with a small noise of confusion. “What do you mean?” 

Clint and Scott both looked at her with grins before she realized what they meant. “Oh no no no, it’s not like that!” She tried to untangle herself from Scott’s hug but it was half hearted at best. “He needed to talk, he’s going through a lot and everyone just expects him to carry it all on his own. You’re reading way too deep into it.” 

The two guys looked a little surprised at her answer and the fact that her face looked very serious when she replied to them. “Oh… that’s so much more wholesome an answer then I thought. We were just teasing you, but this was better.” Clint grinned at her as he drove. Wanda was sitting off on her own near them. 

Lisa cleared her throat and gave a small sigh. “So… what are you two going to do? You have families to get back to.”

“I’ll probably turn myself in, sign the accords and retire.” Clint shrugged. “It’ll make my wife happy. I’ll get to spend time with my kids… all in all I think it’ll be a good thing.” He gave a small smile. 

Scott nodded. “I think I’ll be doing the same thing. I kind of broke the law, and my terms of release to be here to help Captain America. I’m just hoping it won’t affect my visitation rights with Cassie.” Lisa smiled a little bit sadly at Scott. 

“I hope it doesn’t either. But if you do the right thing… maybe they’ll take it easy on you?” 

“I can only hope.”

“What about you Lisa?” Wanda stood up and moved to stand next Clint. 

“I’ll be running with Steve. I can’t let them limit my ability to help people. And I think we have Natasha to help keep us off the grid. You?”

“I think I’ll stick around with him as well, at least until I figure out what to do.” Wanda swallowed before she looked down at her feet for a moment. “I know I’ve said it already, but Lisa… I am sorry for what I did.”

Lisa tensed up a bit before she relaxed. “It’s okay, I forgive you for it. I can’t really blame you for doing what you believed in. Plus you freed me which let me help in the end.” Lisa held her hand out to the other woman who shook it.

“Thank you Lisa…” 

“Well now this is just too cute.” Clint grinned at both of them as Steve and Sam joined them up at the controls. Lisa and Wanda’s hands immediately left each other, feeling awkward over what Clint had said. 

“I won’t ask you all to stick with me. I couldn’t do that to you again.” Steve said as everyone gave him their attention. 

“Scott and I are going to turn ourselves in and sign the accord so that we can retire.” Clint glanced over as he kept them on course. Steve nodded. He had expected that from these two. They had families and expectations to uphold. 

“Well I’m sticking with Rogers.” Sam said as he put his hand on Steve’s shoulder. Steve looked at Lisa and Wanda. 

“And you two?”

“Steve, you asked me to help you all those months ago in Washington. I’m not done yet.” Lisa replied with a smile at him. 

“I want to figure out what to do. For now, that’s staying with you.” Wanda looked up at Steve. 

“I appreciate all the help you gave to me during the issues we were facing.” Steve smiled at them all. 

“Well I don’t speak for everyone, but when Captain America asks us for help… It’s kind of hard to say no.” Scott said with a short chuckle. He took his arm from around Lisa’s shoulder and held his hand out to Steve who shook it. “It’s been a pleasure, but I really want to get home to Cassie.” 

“We’re almost to the shore. We still have the Quinjet so we can get you both where you want to go. And then we’ll be disappearing. But you should still be able to get a hold of us if you need to.” Clint and Scott both nodded as they pulled up to the dock, the night going quiet as Clint turned off the engine and they coasted into the dock. There were two figures waiting for them there, and Lisa was immediately concerned. And with her still on the water, there would be no way she could help if this was bad. 

Steve was off the boat in an instant, helping slow the momentum down enough that they stopped. “Got the Quinjet ready?” He asked the two on the dock. 

“Yeah. Did you get everyone?”

Steve got the boat tied off before he turned to help those that needed it off the boat. “Yes. We have some stops to make then it’s off to drop Buck off.” He said as he helped Wanda and Lisa off the boat. Clint hugged Natasha for a moment.

“Glad we’re still friends.” 

“You didn’t hit me hard enough to stop us from being friends.” He replied as they separated. She smiled up at him, and they walked off the dock together. 

Steve stepped up next to Bucky, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “How are you feeling Buck?”

“Strange. Miss the arm, but I’m ready to get some help.” He said with a small half smile. 

“Good to hear. Let’s go then.” Steve glanced over at the others and gestured up the dock after Natasha and Clint.


	7. The Safehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrive to the safehouse courtesy of the Wakandan monoarchy.

It took less than 24 hours to get it all handled and taken care of. Clint and Scott were dropped off then they were able to enter Wakanda where they dropped off Bucky. Lisa stayed on the Quinjet for that drop off, and just lounged in the co-pilot’s seat. Wanda was resting with Natasha while they waited for Steve and Sam to come back. She had her head back, her eyes closed and her feet up on the console. Lisa fell asleep like that. 

The place they arrived at was out of the way enough to be safe for all of them. It was out of the way, quiet, a place where they would be able to train, conduct missions and live without being too troubled. Everyone filed out of the quinjet except for Lisa, though no one seemed to notice she wasn’t with them. 

Natasha and Steve took the two that were with them on a quick tour of the place. Once they were done and seated in the living room and relaxing, Sam glanced around and spoke. “Where’s Lisa?” 

There was a beat of silence before Steve was back on his feet and beelining out for the Quinjet. He was silently berating himself for not waking her up when they got there but there had been a lot on his mind. He climbed back into the quinjet, seeing her right where they had left her. She had shifted, just a little bit, but nothing too major. 

He paused for a moment to make sure she wasn’t touching any of the metal with her hands since he didn’t want her to bring the Quinjet down around them. 

She looked like she was sleeping soundly for the first time in a month since her hands were free. Steve paused for a moment debating if he should just pick her up and carry her in when he decided that it would be better to just wake her up. He didn’t want her to panic, so he sat down in the pilot’s chair. She was sleeping soundly, only surfacing when Steve reached over to wake her up by shaking her shoulder. 

She jolted up right, her hands moving out to hit whoever had touched her. He caught her arm around the wrist, and waited for her to wake up. “Lisa, it’s okay. Relax.” 

Her eyes opened and sighed softly. “S-sorry Steve.” 

He smiled at her and gestured to the back of the Quinjet. “We’re here. Come on, there’s a room for you that will be significantly more comfortable then the co-pilot’s chair.” He let her wrist go before he stood up. She got to her feet as well and followed him out. 

She walked next to him, and stretched her body with a small groan. It felt nice to have land back under her feet. She inhaled softly, before she took in the location of where they were. “It’s quiet here.”

“Yes. It’ll be perfect for us. We’re not so far out that we can’t get deliveries, and everything is set up for contactless delivery so no one will know it’s us. We’ll share duties, make sure everyone is fed and healthy. It’s a good location.” Steve supplied. 

“Yeah I can see that. So I’m assuming I’m going to get more combat training as well as spec ops?” She asked. 

“Yes. You’ll be working pretty heavily with Natasha, but you’ll also have to learn how to take a hit from an enhanced like me.” 

Lisa had to pause before she spoke, remembering the last time she had spoken without thinking. “Steve, did you just say that you were going to beat me up in training?”

Steve stopped walking for a moment and she stopped to turn and look at him. “N-no. That’s not what I meant…” 

Lisa laughed softly. “Relax Steve, I was teasing. But don’t pull your punches fighting me please. I don’t want to be a liability.” 

Steve laughed with her as he stepped up next to her. “You haven’t been a liability yet. I know that we don’t usually talk about performance, and we haven’t talked about what happened in Germany, but I want you to know that Buck and I were very grateful for the help you gave us. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you…” He put his hand on her shoulder and she smiled back at him. 

“Thanks Steve, it’s nice to hear.” They walked into the house and didn’t see anyone around. 

“Ah… they must have all gone to bed. Which is expected… we’ve all been up for a while.” Steve glanced around the house before he gave a small sigh. “I can show you where you’re sleeping if you’d like.” 

“No, I think I’ve slept enough at this point. Might make something to eat. You sort of took them all out around meal time.” Lisa said as she let him lead her into the kitchen. She quietly started to rummage around to find something to eat. He settled himself at the kitchen island watching her. 

“Are you okay?” He asked her, watching her pause in her perusal. She kept going, pulling down a box of cereal and then beelined for where she had found the dishes earlier. She had thought he had missed her nervousness, her twitches, or the way she leaned into any contact she had been given recently. 

“You might have to be a bit more specific with that question Steve.” She went through the motions of making herself a bowl of cereal, before she turned to offer him one as well. He nodded in thanks before she set it down in front of him, grabbed the milk and sat next to him. 

“You fell asleep pretty quick on the jet, and then didn’t wake up when we touched down. I know it doesn’t make much noise, and I’m not the worst pilot in the world, but you didn’t even shift. How long did you go without sleep on the Raft?”

Lisa hummed a bit as she passed the milk over to him and stirred her cereal for a moment before she ate. She considered her answer. “Well the lights never went out. I have problems sleeping if it’s not dark enough, and honestly as soon as Scott went to sleep… it was just too quiet. And not being able to use my hands… at all… for a month. That was… that was not fun.” She ate a little more before she looked down at the bowl again. 

“I don’t label myself as an excessively touchy feely person, but a whole month without contact. That was rough. You never realize how much you actually touch people even with just basic everyday things.” She glanced over at Steve who was giving her his full attention while he ate. 

“So… would hugging help you feel more level?” He asked.

“It might help. It felt good when Scott had his arm around my shoulder on the boat.” Lisa turned her attention back to her food, before the heavy weight of Steve’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her, and her chair closer to him, their sides pressed together.

“Finish eating and we can go sit in the living room. I talked a lot about me earlier. I’d like to learn more about you… if that would be okay.” He said, leaving his arm around her waist. 

She smiled a little bit and kept eating, making sure that her thigh stayed pressed against his. This was nice, being able to feel someone else again. “Yeah, that would be perfect. I’d like to do that, at least until I fall asleep… or I bore you to sleep.” She teased. 

He laughed softly, shaking his head as he ate his cereal. They fell into companionable silence, and when she finished, she leaned her head against his shoulder, waiting for him to finish eating. Once he was done, she gathered both of their dishes, cleaned them and set them to drip dry. She turned back to the living room and moved over to the couch where Steve was already settled, sweater off. He grinned at her as she had to pause for a second. “You know Steve, I don’t think I’ve seen you without your uniform or a sweater on yet. Though I have to say you look really really good in a suit.” She smiled, with a slight flush to her cheeks before she sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder again. Her arms wrapped around his chest, and she snuggled in a little bit. 

Lisa sighed softly with a smile on her face. “You are built to perfection…” She said softly. 

“Apparently not. There’s a small ring of green around my eyes.” He said, as his arms wrapped around her as well. 

“Who ever told you that wasn’t perfect is a god damn liar, pardon my language.” 

“That’s going to haunt me forever isn’t it?” Steve asked as he shifted her so that her legs were over his lap since that would be more comfortable for both of them. 

“Huh? OH! No, I wasn’t actually mentioning that story… It’s a phrase people who are normally polite use when they have to use foul language.” She giggled a little bit and let her eyes drift shut. He was warm, heartbeat regular, and he felt… safe. And after all the shit she had been through for the last month, it felt good.

“So what did you want to know?” She asked, as she shifted her head a little bit for more comfort for herself. 

“How did you find out about your powers?”

Lisa laughed. “I was running around the school’s track field. It uh.. It was not very flat. I didn’t even realize I was doing it at first. Every step pressed the track in a little firmer. Once I had it packed down, my next lap around the track flattened out nice and straight. When the principal came out to do her rounds, she stopped in amazement because it was bad before and then it wasn’t. There are times where you couldn’t even get construction crews to make it that flat.” She grinned at her own memory. 

“After that… well I had to be careful. I figured out I could move a lot of dirt and earth, but really it was shifting it, not making new stuff. I always made sure that I fixed what I had moved if I had to. I actually enjoyed doing construction work which was the best job I ever had. Worked with the same construction company for years, and they didn’t lord it around about my abilities because it made it easier for them to dig out foundations for the buildings.” 

“That sounds industrious.” He said, as he leaned forward a little bit to grab the remote and turned the television on to just have something soft in the background. He turned it to one of those music channels and then set the remote down next to them. 

“It was. Hell you met me on a construction site in Washington, remember? And when all that stuff happened in New York, then Washington… It was good money. Great money if I’m honest. And it’s money that I honestly feel like we could use, but I have no way to get at it without giving around our location.” She frowned a little bit, before shaking her head. “But that’s a different problem all together.” 

“So beside all of that, what did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

Steve cleared his throat as he shifted. “Well when I was younger, before all the super soldier serum, I used to go to the movies, I was even at one of the first Stark Expos. So what did you do in your free time? Knowing about someone can’t just be about what would be relevant. I know personal things about Sam, and Natasha. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Wanda a lot, but she was really opening up to Vision before this entire situation went down. So I want to know about you. What you like, what you don’t like, that kind of thing.” 

She smiled before giving a little sigh of contentment. “I guess what every teenager did. Went to dances, played with my friends, went out to the movies. Fell in love, fell out of love. Had crushes that went nowhere. Found out that I liked Korean BBQ, and that I enjoyed spicy food. I’m not a fan of horror movies, and my favorite colour is that really particular shade of red that you had on your shield.” She leaned back a little bit and looked up at him. 

“It’s your turn to share something not depressing. We’re keeping this light and happy.” He let her move and sit next to him, but left his arm around her shoulder as she relaxed her hug. He didn’t want to overstimulate her, so he was letting her call the shots. 

“Something not depressing…. Hmmm…. Well… Hmmm….” He stopped and had to think. His face pulled into the confused thinking expression that he had when his mind tried to come to terms with something new that he hadn’t had before in his own time. “My favourite colour is blue, I’m actually a big fan of romance comedies…” 

“Rom coms.” she supplied. 

“Pardon?”

“No one calls them romance comedies. They’re either rom coms or romantic comedies.” 

“And I learned something new today. Okay, so I enjoy rom coms, and I’m still nowhere close to being completely caught up on my time difference. It’s hard to be completely connected given how much I’ve had to do.” 

“I can help with that. The catch up stuff. I can explain things, suggest movies and media to consume that will help.” She glanced up at him, and saw him watching her. 

“I’d appreciate that Lisa, thank you.” He smiled down at her, and she returned it. “You know… I didn’t have it as bad as you… but this… this feels good. Just sitting here, holding you and talking. There are no expectations, no pressure. Just two people relaxing and talking.” 

She smiled and relaxed her head against his shoulder again. “Yeah it is.” The sun was starting to come up through the windows, and she opened her mouth to say something when she glanced up and saw that he was relaxed with his eyes closed, breathing even. It must have been a longer day then he had let on. She found a throw blanket, very carefully rearranged him so that he was laying down with his head in her lap, and covered in the blanket. She turned the television to something else, and relaxed into the couch while he slept.


	8. That morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, laying some ground work.

When the others woke up, it was to the sounds of 40’s music playing softly through the speakers, with Steve asleep on the couch and the smell of fresh made breakfast. Natasha walked into the kitchen to see Lisa cooking, with a pot of coffee already on. There was a beeline made right for the coffee, and a sidelong glance at the other woman. Lisa kept her focus on the food as she worked. 

“Did you sleep well?” Natasha asked as she made herself a cup of coffee and then leaned against the counter.

“You mean during the last month or on the Quinjet?” Lisa casted a quick glance over at Natasha. 

“Let’s call it both.” 

“Shitty during the month. Quinjet sleep was nice. Wasn’t feeling tired after Steve woke me up so we talked until he fell asleep. I’m not Thor, so I wasn’t going to be able to move him. I just shifted him till he was laid out on the couch and took some time to explore the house. It’s a pretty extensive place.” She said before putting her food onto the plate. “What can I get you for breakfast?”

“Normally don’t eat anything for breakfast. But since you offered, eggs, sunnyside up?” 

“Coming right up.” Natasha glanced into the living room, seeing Steve laying on his stomach, face turned to the side and one arm under his head. He was really too big for the couch, but he was at least resting. 

Lisa glanced over her shoulder again, before turning her attention back to what she was doing. “I’ve been keeping quiet so that I don’t wake him up. He looked like he needed the sleep…” 

“I think he slept only when he passed out while we were planning that rescue.” 

Lisa gave a small hum before she nodded. “That sounds like him. Natasha, are you okay?”

Natasha looked at Lisa curiously before she sipped on her coffee. “What do you mean?”

“Well fighting against Clint… the rest… The accords, all of it. Just because you’re a super spy, doesn’t mean you’re feeling okay about everything.” Lisa got the plate made up and then set it down on the island. 

Natasha opened her mouth to reply, but Sam wandered into the kitchen and she closed it with a small smile.  _ Later. _ She mouthed at Lisa who nodded. Sam beelined right for the coffee, before Lisa offered to make him breakfast as well. She liked to cook, so this was working out. She was eating her own as she cooked, getting Wanda’s order when she came in. Once the three of them were eating, Lisa set her dirty dishes into the sink and checked the clock. Steve had only gotten four hours of sleep… She wanted to let him wake up on his own. 

“What’s the plan for today then Natasha?” She sat down at the island, hands wrapped around a glass of orange juice. 

“Well I think the big man was planning on training, but he’s currently still passed out.” 

“We can do that without him. Though, why is he asleep on the couch?” Sam asked around a mouthful of toast. 

Lisa gave a small laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. “We were talking till about dawn. I wasn’t tired, and he said he wasn’t either, but he was asleep pretty quick. Couldn’t move him, so I just shifted him till he was laying down and then watched some television, got myself caught up on the last month.” She looked up from her glass to see Steve leaning against the door watching them with a barely awake expression on his face. She opened her mouth to wish him a good morning, but he just held his finger up to his lips and then disappeared down the hall away from the kitchen. 

She covered it by quickly taking a drink before smiling to herself. For a man that big he could be quiet when he wanted to be. Though it was hard to mistake the sounds of the shower being turned on and all of them present and accounted for. “I cooked, so someone else gets to clean up.” She said as she stood up, and went to find her room. Each of them had small fingerprint pads, and as she ran her fingers over them, they refused her entry until she found the one that belonged to her. She had lied a little bit to Natasha. She hadn’t really left Steve’s side that morning since she had wanted to be there in case he woke up disoriented. 

Lisa stepped in and saw the basic furnishings here. A dresser, closet, side table next to the bed, which was a simple double, and that was it. There was a suitcase on the bed, and she walked over, opening it up. It seemed like people were busy while they had been in lock up. It was a more stealthier version of the suit she was currently wearing. She pulled it out, flicking the fabric a little bit. It was nice, looked like it would fit without issues. Her hair, in the month that she had been in lock up, was longer than she normally kept it, and as she investigated around the room, she found a few hair ties, and got her hair pulled up into a short ponytail. She got changed, having found some work out clothes in the dresser before she returned, to the others, seeing Wanda finishing up the dishes and Sam and Natasha heading out into the back yard with Steve. 

No man had any right looking that good with his hair wet like that. She grinned and paused to check in with Wanda quickly to make sure she was good before she was outside next to the other three. 

“... I think we need to start on making sure we’re all on the same level. It would work out best for all of us if we all had some combat training.” Steve spoke, watching Sam and Natasha who both glanced at her as she stepped next to Steve. 

“So then I suppose that means it’s my training we’re starting with?” She asked with a small smile at all of them.

“You and Wanda. She’s skilled, but it wouldn’t hurt to be able to not have to rely on your powers sometimes.” Natasha spoke up. 

“You’re not expecting us to be you right?” 

“We don’t have time to make you like me Lisa. So this will have to do. Augment your abilities with some fighting ability. It will be good for both of you.” Natasha grinned at Lisa who smiled right back. 

“When do we start?”

* * *

Three days later, Lisa was laying on the couch, her shoulder wrapped up with an ice pack. Her training with Natasha was going great, but she had to take a day off after she had been thrown from the training mat and had hit her shoulder harder then intended. She would be fine in a couple days, but she definitely didn’t think she’d ever wind up using the line “I could do this all day” which Steve had definitely said more then once to Sam while they were training together. 

Wanda sat sitting with her, reading the latest intelligence reports. It was nice to sit in companionable silence, hearing the soft grunts and the sounds of someone hitting the ground. At least those three were still keeping busy. 

“Yes, it is nice that they’re able to keep busy with each other.” 

Lisa made a noise of surprise before she whipped her head towards Wanda giving a small groan as her shoulder twinged. 

Wanda froze in what she was doing before she looked over to Lisa. 

“Oh… You didn’t say that outloud.” 

“You can read minds?”

“Most people’s surface thoughts are like background noise. As if you have left the television on, so that there is sound. But it’s constant, and I can not turn it off. I apologize, I thought you had spoken.” 

Lisa shook her head but sat up and kept one hand over her shoulder. “It’s okay, but it’s good to know. I mean I would prefer you didn’t do that, but if you can’t help it, then I can’t really get that mad about it.” 

“I could help with the pain in your shoulder if you wanted.” Wanda offered.

Lisa shook her head again and leaned back. “No, I think the pain is a good reminder. It’s mostly a dull ache at this point. Tell me whatcha looking at?” She asked, looking at the data pad in her hand. 

Wanda turned the television off and with a movement of her fingers flicked what she was looking at up onto the television. Lisa’s eyes watched in rapt attention as Wanda scrolled through the information, before Lisa threw her hand out to stop her. “Isn’t that a known Hydra operative? If this report’s accurate… he’s not that far from here.” 

“Who’s not that far from here?” Lisa and Wanda both looked over their shoulders, Lisa with a soft grunt of pain and Wanda gestured to the tv. The other three were standing behind them, looking at the television and the information Lisa had stopped them on. 

“Well it’s likely going to be fully fortified… Do we have an image of his location?” Steve asked as he gripped onto the couch as he leaned forward and watched the information come up on the screen. “Hmm… Okay. Nat, think you can get a plan for us, ready in 24 hours minus Lisa?” Steve glanced over at Natasha as Lisa made a noise of protest. She could still go and help, she was sure of it.

Sam moved over and put his hand on Lisa’s shoulder and she gave an involuntary groan of pain. “That is why you’re not going.” 

Lisa’s face scrunched up but she relaxed back into the couch. “Fine, I’ll stay behind. Keep looking for more Hydra agents we can handle.” She put her hands up saying she wouldn’t protest anymore. Natasha gave a small laugh.

“We won’t be gone long. Back before you know it.” The spy shifted as she took the data pad from Wanda and started to plan.


	9. The Revelation

Three days later and they still weren’t back. Lisa was back to working out, having hauled the punching bag up onto the hook designed for it, trying not to worry since them being late was likely to happen. Her shoulder still twinged a little bit, but nothing too major. It felt more like she was stretching out sore muscles then something bad. 

She slammed her fist into the bag over and over, shifting her feet, trying to remember what Steve had told her, what Nat had taught her, and the tips that Sam had given her. It was a lot to remember, none of it felt natural. She had to stop, and sat down on the floor looking at the bag. It wasn’t working. She glanced down at her feet, before she just tore the shoes off. They were new, too much sole in them. She threw them to the side, and stood back up. Closing her eyes, she gave a small hum, her toes curling against the floor. It felt better, not perfect but better. She shifted and punched forward with nearly perfect form. 

She was so focused, feeling the sand in the bag shifting with every punch, that she didn’t hear anyone enter behind her. But she did see something out of the corner of her eye, and whirled to her right towards it, using her foot instead of her fists. She was panting as she was stopped with a hand wrapped around her ankle. Her eyes focused on who was holding onto her, and she nearly stumbled back with a noise of surprise. “Steve!” 

Steve gave her a small smile and let her ankle go so that she could put both feet on the ground. “Hey. Sorry we’re late getting back. Had some… problems come up. Adjusted the plan on the go.” 

“I’m just glad you’re all okay… you are all okay right?”

“Yes. Sam’s going to be out of commission for a little bit while he fixes his wings, but other than that, it’s minor. But we handled it.” 

Lisa smiled up at him and nodded. “Good to hear.” 

“How’s your shoulder?” 

“Stretching out muscles I haven’t used in a long time feels kind of weird but good?” She asked as she pulled her arm across her body. 

“And uhm… I don’t want to sound like I’m criticizing, but why don’t you have any shoes on?” 

Lisa looked down at her feet, toes flexing and moving as she looked. “The shoes were throwing me off while I was practicing. It felt like I wasn’t stable enough.” She looked back up at him, and his own confused expression. 

“You know those boots I wore every time we trained, or when we were fighting at the airport?” She asked. 

He nodded after a moment, remembering the construction boots that hadn’t been kept with her gear. 

“I tore the insoles out of them, and thinned the rubber soles a lot. They would still protect me from most things I’d step on, since I didn’t remove the tread, and replaced the insole with a layer of dirt, but that’s why I’m able to shift my feet and shift the earth. Otherwise, I’d have to be touching it every time. I’m still much stronger with my hands on the ground, but not having that has been… throwing me off while practicing, so I just opted for the bare foot method.” 

Steve nodded as he grinned. “That makes a lot of sense. Have you eaten?”

Lisa turned her head to the side for a moment as she thought. “N...no. Not in the last six hours. I got pretty focused and forgot.” 

“Come on then, come get something to eat. We’ll catch you up on what happened.” 

Lisa sat at the kitchen island, listening to them all talk, enjoying the way that they included her even though she hadn’t gone. The mission had gone off, with some moderate success after having to make some adjustments, but it had been good. And they had gotten out before the Avengers had shown up, which was better. Lisa smiled and laughed when they spoke of something funny, and then filled them in on what she had found. It wasn’t much, and now it was just a waiting game. 

Most of the team took a few days to rest and relax, but Lisa and Steve were working on fighting endurance, out in the backyard. She forwent the idea of shoes, fighting against him in her bare feet. They explored and worked with her abilities, finding out new ways to use them, ways to manipulate them. The second day when she woke up, there was a package outside her door, a brand new pair of construction boots, with a note that said  _ For you to destroy as you see fit. -S _

Lisa had spent the day with a knife and sharp scissors as she tore the insoles out and fixed the boots so that they were almost like her old ones. Then it was getting dirt clumped put outside of them and into the treads to make it just that much easier. She grinned as she did this, singing softly to herself the entire time she worked. The others of the team filtered in and out while she did this, occasionally watching what she was doing, asking questions that she answered in short sentences since most of her focus was on her boots. 

“How do you use those for stealth when you can’t be tracked?” Natasha asked while she sat across from Lisa watching her work. 

“Typically I pack the boots with clay. We don’t have any.”

“But doesn’t it flake off?”

“No.” 

“How?”

Lisa looked at Natasha with a small look of annoyance. “Like this.” She pulled the boots onto her feet, got them settled in the dirt she already had in there and then slammed both her feet on the ground. Not a single speck of dirt flaked off and she stared at Natasha. “Because if I have the boots on, there’s a very good chance I’m already using my powers. It’s a focus thing. If I focus on the earth on my boots, they stay on there. Or they’re just old dirt that won’t come off. There was a place I liked to go, the ground was 90 percent clay, and it really just clung to your shoes. Couldn’t get it off, no matter how hard you scrubbed and cleaned. There was always more.” 

Natasha grinned and nodded. “You could have said that.” 

“Yeah but I had to test my boots out anyway. Make sure I’ve got the right dirt ratio. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep working without any more questions about my stuff. You promised me later. It’s later.” Lisa sat down to pull her boots back off and kept making adjustments, glancing at Natasha who sat with her arms folded on the table. 

“Fair enough. I’m not sure how I’m doing. I was in agreement with Tony… but seeing Steve and James so driven… Shit I tasered King T’Challa. Switched sides.. And fighting against Clint… It’s hard when he’s the one who pulled you out of the shit you were in. When he’s the one who made it better and you had to fight him.” 

Lisa kept her mouth shut but nodded to show she was still listening. And it went on like that for an hour, Natasha and Lisa just talking back and forth, but keeping the conversation mostly focused off Lisa. 

“Before I go Lisa. I know we’re all on the run, and we’re all in pretty close quarters here, but… how long do you think you’re going to be able to keep your infatuation under wraps?”

Lisa froze as she was pulling another strip of rubber out of the boots. Her eyes looked up, and her head tilted to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Natasha.” Her face remained impassive except for a small eyebrow raise. 

The spy gave a smirk as she tilted her head a little bit. “Don’t play dumb with me. I’ve watched it happen. Been watching you, hard not to. After all, we’re all on the same team, living in the same space. I’m a trained surveillance agent. You address him first every time. If you’re making food, he’s served first even if he was the last one to sit down. You’re not very subtle about it.” 

There was a slight widening of Lisa’s eyes before she relaxed. “Coincidence. We’re all teammates here Natasha, as professional as we can be.” 

“So you’re in denial to yourself, let alone everyone else. Well don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. And if it makes you feel better, I’m the only one who’s noticed.” Natasha pushed herself back from the table and stood up. “See you at dinner Lisa.” The spy kept that smirk on her face as she walked away, hands in her pockets. 

Lisa stared after her, hands still deep in her boots and she turned her gaze back to what she was working on, trying to ignore what she had said. That was absolutely ridiculous. She didn’t have a crush on Steve Rogers, America’s All American Boy. The Starspangled Man With a Plan… No way. It was a coincidence. Just like she said. It had to be.


	10. The First Mission

Now that Natasha had made her aware of it, Lisa saw how her actions could be construed as affection. She told herself it was just out of deference to his rank. But she got more discreet about what she was doing. It made sense if she were honest with herself. And maybe there was a small kernel of truth to what Natasha said. Lisa wished that Natasha hadn’t said anything. The woman felt so awkward around him now. But she was going to have to get it under control and handled. She refused to be a liability here when the world would be relying on them, and the team on her to remain objective. She was so painfully aware of how long she would look at him. Every glance felt like it was under scrutiny. 

Lisa threw herself into training, almost with a new fervour. It was easier to focus on that then on what Natasha had told her. A week later Natasha and Lisa were training, and within seconds Lisa was laying on her front, Natasha wrapped around her, legs off the ground, hands nowhere near it and completely restrained. She struggled to get free, but couldn’t budge the spy. 

“Where is your head right now Lisa? Because that was the fastest I’ve ever put you on your face.”

“Where the fuck do you think it is Nat!? Ever since you fucking told me that you think I have a crush on Rogers, all I’ve been able to do is panic about whether you’re right or not.” 

Lisa’s body was let go and Natasha sat on the grass next to her. Lisa rolled over onto her back and stared at the sky. 

“You know I didn’t think it would affect you like this but… or I wouldn’t have said any of it. I figured it would help you get it out of your system. But you really didn’t know?”

Lisa looked over at Natasha and sighed. “No I didn’t know. I hadn’t even really thought about it honestly.” She rubbed her face with her hands. “I mean come on, he’s Captain America for christ’s sake. I mean why would I even consider it? I’m not so insecure to think that there’s something wrong with me, but the history books, the museum features… they all talked about his number one gal, Peggy Carter. Why would I even consider getting in the way of that?” Lisa sat up and mirrored Natasha’s pose, with their arms loosely wrapped around their knees, ankles crossed and watching each other.

“Because she’s gone?”

“And I’m supposed to take advantage of a man who’s grieving for a woman he’s lost? Just because she moved on, doesn’t mean that time moved forward for him. Nat what the fuck?”

Natasha winced, realizing how that sounded. “Okay that was a bit worse than I intended. Look, I’ve been trying to get him hooked up for about a year or so. He’s asked me to stop, but it’s a bad habit. After all the shit he’s been through, it would be nice to see him happy.” She shrugged, hands spread. 

Lisa stared at her, unimpressed. “So you stressed me out, made me feel awkward, and question everything I’ve been doing since he asked me to join the damn Avengers because you want to hook him up!? Jesus christ Nat that’s what we have Tinder for!” 

Natasha laughed softly, her laughter getting louder as she sat there.

“It’s not that funny Nat! Stop it!” 

She managed to get herself under control quickly without a problem. “You seriously think that Rogers would use Tinder? When he’s the white picket fence, couple of kids kind of guy? The guy that’ll bring you flowers on a first date, insist that he pay for everything.” 

Lisa sighed, before shaking her head. “No you’re right. He’s not a Tinder kind of guy. But I want you to know that I’m very pissed off at you for that shit. I’ve been stressed about this for a week.” 

Natasha shook her head. “Lisa, if there hadn’t been truth, you wouldn’t have stressed out. So did you figure it out?” 

“No. And it’s been clearly affecting me. But I’ll figure it out. I’m going to have to, it’s not like I can just quit.”

“You could though. Turn yourself in, sign the accords.” Natasha shrugged, before frowning. “But that’s not you is it?”

“Nope. I made my bed, made my choices. I just gotta lie in it. Besides, I like helping people and going back to my former life would put all of them in danger, and I couldn’t do that. They were all very good to me.” She stood up, stretched before she gestured for Natasha to resume their training. “Come on, I’m more focused now that we’ve talked about that.” 

Natasha was back on her feet and dashed forward to try and grapple onto Lisa again. This time, she was more prepared for her. She shifted the dirt underneath Natasha’s feet, and threw her off, before she dodged to the side, and kept going, trying to pin Natasha down. It didn’t work, but Lisa didn’t get pinned down again like she had to start. 

“Hey you two, we’re ready to go on another excursion.” Lisa and Natasha separated from each other, looking over at Sam who had his suit on. 

“On our way. 15 minutes.” Natasha said as the pair jogged into the house and got ready. 

* * *

They were wheels up on the quinjet within twenty minutes, Lisa sitting there, going over the plan with Sam one last time. She was all business, focused on exactly what they had to do. The ins and outs. Since it was her first real mission and it wasn’t even with the Avengers like she had thought it would be. Her knee bounced, and she breathed slowly. She was nervous, it was stressful to think about. She kept her hands clasped together, but couldn’t stop shifting and twisting them. 

Sam reached out and put his hand on her knee, stilling her movement. “Hey you okay?”

“Yeah… I think so.” 

“You’ve been a bundle of nerves the last week or so. You sure you’re alright?”

“Yup. Just first mission nerves I think. I always thought I’d be doing my first mission with the whole Avengers team. Back up, tech support. You know. The full group.” She glanced over at him, with a half smile.

Sam grinned back at her, and patted her knee. “Listen to the Cap and everything will go fine. I promise.” He shifted back and relaxed into his seat. “This is a simple extraction, it’ll be fine.” 

Lisa laughed a little bit and relaxed back into her seat. Sam’s words were comforting, and she took solace in it. Her eyes closed and she relaxed, letting her body stop it’s nervous movements. 

The quinjet touched down and everyone was off the jet and moving. Lisa and Wanda ran next to each other in their dark clothing before they peeled off to go to their designated places. Lisa was nervous, but as her movements shifted the earth, she opened up a path for the group into the underground bunker. With her being an unknown to the enemies of the Avengers, it made this almost too easy. She slid down the hole she had made before she was at the concrete walls that made up the bunker. There was earth shifting behind her and she glanced back, seeing the dark boots of Steve’s stealth suit behind her. 

He tapped her on her shoulder and nodded. It was time. She turned her attention back from him and put her hands on the concrete. 

“Sordes and Cap in position?” Sam’s voice came staticy through their coms.

“We’re in position. Start the assault on my mark.” Steve waited a beat, his hand on her shoulder before he patted her shoulder as he spoke. “Now.” 

Gunfire erupted in their coms as she shoved against the wall, pushing the concrete in until she made a hole large enough for both of them to step through. She dashed to the left, with Steve’s feet pounding on pace with hers, until he passed her, kicking the door open in front of them. A room full of armed combatants turned to look at them before raising their guns. Steve pulled his arm up and crouched as if he had his shield, and Lisa shifted her foot, raising a wall of earth in front of them as bullets started to fire. “Come on Cap, no shield.” She said as she patted his shoulder and a hole started to show through the earth. He smiled at her a little sheepishly before he stepped back from the doorway and gestured her ahead of him. 

“Thank you.” She moved back into the doorway as the guns continued to fire, as she shoved that earth wall ahead of her. Steve stepped in behind her, and she nodded at him, before her right foot shifted and threw him forward as she dropped the earth wall and sent him directly at them as they reloaded. He made quick work of them, taking down more than she did. As she walked by them, earth rose to shackle them in place in case they came to. 

She walked a few steps behind him, eyes roving over him, checking for injuries, seeing none. There was a sense of relief as she smiled to herself behind her mask. Her eyes met his as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was still with him and uninjured, and she turned her gaze away as she turned around, walking backwards after him, to check their exit path was clear just in case something went wrong. 

She turned back again as his hand flew back and stopped her. Lisa’s hand went to his bicep, and peeked out around him. Two targets in front of them, guarding a door, on high alert. 

“Three seconds.” Steve’s voice was soft as he watched Natasha round the corner and take them out. “Dealt with. Next step, move.” He tugged Lisa with him and ran towards the door, booting it open as well as he and Natasha went through the door and Lisa was a step behind him. Once they were in, Natasha went immediately to the console and started getting the information they were here for before Lisa ran for the safe room door that was closing. She got there as the door closed, and she slammed her hands against it. Her eyes darted over the entire door, trying to find what she could manipulate to open it. 

Then she found it, the steel she was looking for. There was a large enough quantity for her to be able to grab with her powers and move. Laying her hands one of the door’s sides, she hauled on it, groaning as she pulled the door open inch by inch. Steve waited next to her, and as soon as the door was open enough for him to get through he was running in and taking out the Hydra agent that was in there. She held it open for Steve, her feet sliding as she fought the mechanism to keep the door open. 

“Hey Rogers, get a move on in there, or you’re going to be locked in there!” Natasha called over her shoulder without looking up from the screen. Steve stepped back out, leaving the Hydra agent in there. Lisa let the door slide shut and leaned back against it, tilted forward and braced against her knees, panting behind her mask. Steve headed towards Natasha but stopped halfway there to glance back at Lisa.

She had her eyes closed for a moment and when she opened them, she saw the flashing red light underneath the desk that was near her. “Hey...Cap?” 

“Yeah?” 

“We gotta go. Now. There’s a bomb.”

Steve and Natasha both whipped their heads towards her, and then down to the desk, and back to each other before Steve was running for Lisa and tackling her to the ground as the bomb went off. He cradled her head against his chest and covered her body with his. The explosion was loud, louder than she had heard before. It wasn’t something she had ever experienced. 

She was dazed, looking at the dome of earth that was over her and Steve. He was looking at her, talking, but she couldn’t hear him. He waved his hand over her face, and she pointed at her ears before gesturing her hand across her throat. He nodded his understanding and sat back, looking at the dome. He tapped her calf, pointed at the small dome and gave her a thumbs up. Lisa smiled and sat up, keeping her hands on the ground. She kept shaking her head as she tried to get her hearing to come back. The ringing was awful. 

He snapped his fingers in front of her face, gestured to his ears, and then to her. She nodded her permission, and while he steadied her head, and then held her jaw shut, and closed her nose. He mimed blowing hard, and she nodded, as much as he let her before she followed his instructions and felt her ears pop. 

“Can you hear me now?” His voice sounded like it was coming at her through water, but she could at least hear him now. He let her face go so that she could talk.

“Yeah.” She thought she whispered, but it was said normally. 

“Good. Drop the dome Sordes. You protected us, now let’s go home.” He watched the dirt shift away from them as her hands left the ground, and helped her to her feet. She stumbled and leaned against an overturned desk, holding her head. Steve’s hand hovered on her back, as Natasha brushed herself off. 

“Everyone good?” Natasha called out to them. 

“I am, but she’s still getting her hearing back. You okay Nat?”

“Yes. Let’s go.” 

Lisa took one step and almost fell on her face. She soon found herself on Steve’s back, and he had a good grip on her thighs. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and gripped her own forearms. “S-sorry.” She whispered in his ear. 

“Don’t apologize, it wasn't your fault. Relax, you did good Sordes.” Lisa could feel his voice rumble through his back and just hid her face against his neck and tried to keep as still as she could to make it easier for him. 

The entire situation played through in her mind. Steve had dove for her. He had put himself in danger to save her. Natasha was right… She liked him. And liked him a lot. 


	11. Late Night Conversations

Lisa didn’t get her full hearing back for two days, and when she finally did it was great. Nothing sounded like it was going through cotton. Training had been held off until everyone was back up to form. It was dark when she jerked forward in her bed. There had been a knock at her door. Dressed in a tank top and long pajama pants, she padded over to the door on silent feet. 

She opened the door, looking up at Steve. He looked troubled. “Hey S-Steve, what’s wrong?” She asked, rubbing the side of her face, leaning against the doorframe. 

“I know it’s late, sorry. I...I can’t sleep. I hate to ask, but can we talk?” He asked, hand on the wall next to her door, looking down at her. 

“Y-yeah.” She poked her head out of the hallway, not seeing anyone there. “Do you want to sit in the living room?” 

“No… could we do this in one of our rooms?” Lisa’s eyebrows furrowed, before she stepped back. 

“That bad?”

Steve shook his head. “No, I just don’t want to be overheard. Even if I’m not Captain America, I still have the reputation to uphold.” 

Once he was in her room, she closed the door and it locked behind them. She gestured to the bed, and moved to sit against the headboard and turned the lights on low so that it was easier. Steve sat on the bed and faced her, hands in his lap. She reached her hands out, palms up towards him. He put his hands in hers, their grip loose on each other’s hands. 

“Okay, Steve, talk to me. What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t know. I feel like if I knew, it would be easier to figure this out. I feel… incapable.” 

Lisa hummed a little bit. “Incapable? You might want to elaborate on that. Because you are more than capable from where I’m sitting.” 

“How you can say that after what nearly happened two days ago…” 

“Because what happened two days ago didn’t have anything to do with your leadership or your capabilities. It was a mission, we did our parts, and Hydra had a self destruct button. So what other situation has you feeling incapable?”

“The month you had to wait for me to get you out…”

Lisa gripped his hands. “No, stop. Again, that’s not your fault. You can’t take blame for our choices. These were our choices, our decisions. You can’t take that on yourself, and away from us.” She relaxed her grip, running her thumbs over the back of his hands. 

Steve looked a little surprised at her vehenemance, and gave a small chuckle. 

“So let’s go a bit further then that Steve. Something else is bugging you.” 

“I feel... raw. With everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to just… catch my breath. Haven’t cried since the day we buried her. I just threw myself into saving Buck, and then being on the run… and I haven’t been able to come to terms with everything that’s happened.” Steve’s voice was barely a whisper, and she ached from his pain. It was there, like a fresh open wound. If she were honest, it had always been there, under the surface and she hadn’t known how to talk to him about it.

She let go of one of his hands, shifted forward, and cupped his cheek, watching him turn his face into the contact, drawing a shuddering breath. She pulled him close, leaning her forehead against his. “It’s okay to cry Steve. Even encouraged. I will be the last person to judge you, I swear.” She whispered. 

He struggled with the idea of it, trying to maintain his shield, his walls around his heart. But all Lisa did was keep the contact calm, welcoming, patient. She felt the shakes before she heard the shuddering breaths as he started to break. His body shook as he started to cry, talking through his tears. Of how he felt so out of place, how he woke up thinking it was still the 1940s and that he had a date to keep. How he had found out Peggy had moved on without him, and tried to adjust to the time he was in. How his heart broke every time he went to see Peggy and she would forget him before remembering him. 

Lisa’s heart broke for the man who carried everything on his shoulders like this. For the man who just wanted to be the best he could be, be the best man that anyone could ask for. She paused him after he talked about Peggy forgetting him, and tugged him until they were laying down, facing each other. She wrapped him up in a hug, his arms wrapping around her waist as he buried his face in her shoulder. Then she let him keep going. He told her of his problems, fighting with Tony, feeling inadequate in some things. For two hours he talked, and she listened. Somewhere around hour 1, he had cried himself out, but didn’t leave her arms. It was comfortable, safe and warm. It was easier to talk when he didn’t have to focus on looking at someone else. Her hand ran through his hair, keeping him close and calm. 

This was more than she ever thought he would share with her. 

“You know… Natasha kept trying to set me up… It never felt right while Peggy was still around… I had lost her years ago because time moved forward for her and not for me. When I woke up, it was like no time had passed. I was still in love with her, and even thinking about seeing someone else didn’t seem right. And now… now we’re on the run.” Lisa shifted a little bit, and rested her cheek against the top of his head. 

There was a slight tremor to his body, a queue to her that he was going to cry again. “It’s okay to miss your gal Steve. It’ll hurt for a long time. And you know… you don’t have to forget her, but in time you should consider moving on. Keep her in your heart, because that’s where she belongs. The right girl won’t ask you to forget about Peggy. She’ll understand that even if she isn’t here, she was the first girl you fell in love with.” Lisa felt the wetness on her shoulder and ran her hand up and down his back and her other hand through his hair. 

“It’s so raw. I keep expecting to hear from her. I want to call her… hear her voice one more time.” 

“That won’t stop. It’ll get less frequent, but it won’t go away.” 

“Have you lost someone before?” Steve asked, holding back a sniffle. 

Lisa laid there for a moment, trying to figure out how she wanted to go about this. Or if she wanted to unload that onto him while he was grieving. But perhaps it would help him… 

As if he could feel her indecisiveness to talk about herself when he was in so much pain, he spoke up. “Please tell me, I want to stop talking about me for a bit.” Steve’s voice was muffled but she could still hear him. 

“Okay Steve.” She paused for a moment, playing with the strands of blonde hair against her shoulder. “It was… two… or three years before Loki attacked New York. I was on site at a job out in Texas. My phone was in my bag and not on my hip so I didn’t get the calls until I was done my work that day.” Lisa had to pause again, staring at the ceiling. 

“My parents had been involved in a car crash. Dead on impact. I was the only kin to notify, and I wasn’t anywhere close for the cops dealing with it to come talk to me, so they kept trying to call me. When I called them back, I was standing next to Randy, the foreman you met that day in Washington. He owns the large construction company I worked for, it was nationwide. We’d fly out to large jobs so that we could get the foundations dug out, the major infrastructure settled before moving on to the next one.

“When they told me… I collapsed. Randy caught me. I was terrified. God I don’t know what I would have done without him. He was like a brother, and he handled everything. Because I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything. I lost a year of life during that time. Trying to come to terms with what happened. Took a full year off work, people kept checking on me, making sure I was okay, that I hadn’t lost myself. I was a mess. I kept calling my parent’s house just to hear the voicemail. Every Saturday at three in the afternoon I would wait for an hour for my mom to call because that’s what we did. Every Saturday afternoon at 3 after I had gotten to where I was staying after working my half day on Saturdays. But the phone never rang. It took me a long time to be able to go through their things, deal with the will. I was lucky, they owned the house outright. But they had left everything to me in the case of their passing.” 

“I’m sorry….”

“Thanks. But even now, I still catch myself wanting to dial the number to call them, tell them how things are going. That number isn’t even connected anymore. I think if I called it, someone else would answer, and that would really just tell me it’s over. But I’m afraid to do it. Sometimes on Saturday’s I’ll wait at 3 for about fifteen minutes before I realize that I’m waiting for something that isn’t coming. Once a year, on the day, I’d go to the grave, sit there, talk to them. Tell them how things have been. Haven’t been able to in the last few years. Been too busy.” She sighed, reaching up to her own face, wiping her tears away. 

Silence fell between them, and Lisa kept running her fingers through his hair. 

“Should I expect it to go like that?”

“No. It’s different for everyone. Everyone grieves differently. But I found it helpful to talk to people that knew my parents. Or even just someone sympathetic to my pain who wanted to hear about them, hear about how they were.” Lisa glanced down at him, and saw him looking up at her. “So any time you need it Steve, no matter the time, no matter the day, knock on my door. Tell me about her, tell me how you saw her, what you loved about her.”

He gave a sad chuckle before he tucked his head back down against her shoulder. “Okay. Thank you Lisa…”

“Of course Steve. Though… out of everyone that’s here… why me?”

“Wanda would see too much, and Sam and Nat would want to try and fix it…”

“But there’s nothing to fix. Only time heals this.” Lisa said, understanding what he meant.

“Exactly. But you… you’re so far from everything. You were new… And you seemed like you could be trusted. You were so open and just wanted to see me for… me.” 

Lisa rested her cheek against his head again, her face flushed. She was grateful he couldn’t see her face. “Sam’s an open book. The Falcon and Sam are the same person. Same with Nat and Black Widow. It’s just the same person, and Wanda is her powers, without having a facade. But you… forgive my candor here, but you have two separate personalities. Who you are in training, when we’re cooking, spending time as a team outside of the missions… That’s Steve Rogers. Then when we’re planning, when we’re fighting, that’s Captain America. You’re not the same person as your codename.” 

He gave a small noise of laughter before he shifted. He pulled away from her before moving to lay on his back next to her. She shifted to the edge of the bed, but there really wasn’t room for both of them, laying on their backs. They were pressed side to side, and he pulled his arms up behind his head, staring at the ceiling as she lifted her head up and put it on his bicep for comfort. 

“I should get back to my room. I can’t say I feel better… but I feel lighter?”

“Don’t expect better for a long time Steve. Grief affects us all differently. Maybe it’ll click for you tomorrow, next week, next month… next year. But it will eventually click.” Lisa’s hands were folded over her stomach, laced together. “So keep coming to talk to me when it feels too much. Even when it doesn’t feel like it’s too much but you just want to talk. I’ll do what I can to help you shoulder that burden so you don’t have to do it alone. Because even though it might feel like it, you’re not alone.” 

“You’re right. I’ve got you in my corner, Buck, Nat, Sam, Wanda…” 

“Exactly. We’re all here to listen and support you.”

Steve relaxed in the bed, not looking like he was really going to get up. “You know that street goes both ways right?” 

“Of course I do. But with Nat beating my ass into the mats 4 times a week, Sam and I working on training tactics that benefit us both, and doing my share of the work around here… It’s almost like I’m back on the construction crew with something to do every day that fills it. I’m handling things okay.” She tilted her head back to look up at him. He was looking down at her and smiled at her. His eyes looked a bit puffy in the low light, and she reached up to brush her thumb just under his eye. He turned into the contact and she gave a small chuckle. 

“I think you need more physical contact then you let on.” She said softly.

“I think you might be right.” 

Lisa thought for a moment, before she spoke up again. “If there’s no one around, you could come up and ask for a hug when you need one.” 

“Why if there’s no one around?”

“Do you want to try and explain to Sam and Natasha why you’re hugging me in front of everyone when we’re just friends? Especially since it would then be all they want to do to see you hook up with me because they believe it would make you happy?” 

Steve opened his mouth to refuse her statement and she gave him a look that reminded him that not only had she been in the car when he had kissed Sharon in front of Sam and Bucky but that he had admitted earlier in the conversation that Natasha had been trying to hook him up with people. 

“You’re right. Okay, when we’re alone then.” 

“Trust me, I would love if you could just hug me in front of everyone else, but I don’t need the ribbing from Natasha or Sam anymore then you do. Now get out of here before super spy herself wakes up and catches you leaving my room at…” Lisa turned her head to the side and saw that it was nearly 5 in the morning on the clock next to her bed. “5 in the morning. That’ll be worse than the previous conversation.” Steve glanced at the clock as well and sat up in the bed, before he got to his feet.

“Thanks for listening to me Lisa. I can’t tell you how much that means.” 

“And I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’d trust me with it. Good night Steve.” Lisa said from where she sat on her bed. 

“Good night Lisa.” He smiled at her, wiped his eyes one last time, and unlocked the door before he left, feet quietly padding down to the door for his room. He had let the door softly close behind him and Lisa flopped back against her sheets, mind spinning with everything he had told her. She couldn’t hurt him. Her infatuation had to be put on the back burner for all their safety. There was no way around it.


	12. The Second Mission

It took two months of careful planning to work out exactly what their next move was. It didn’t hurt that having Lisa on the team was making getting into most buildings a lot easier, but it was still a lot of information to sift through and without having a team to do it, it meant that they had to do it themselves. If something stood out they had to ask Natasha and Steve who both had more experience with Hydra and former SHIELD then the others, and it slowed them down immensely. So far they had been taking out chump change in the grand scheme of things. 

But the five of them had fallen into a routine of cooking, cleaning and overall training. Tensions were high, but if there was one thing that they could rely on, it was each other. The more they did this, the less they worried about maintaining specific appearances. Sam and Steve both let their facial hair grow in, while Nat, Lisa and Wanda let their hair grow, trimming only when necessary. Those that had family or people they wanted to talk to would contact them as discreetly as they could. Burner phones, or untraceable emails. 

Once they had the plan, it was easy to go through with it. Touch down, work their way through the building, get the information they needed and get out. Simple. Easy even. Except things never went to plan from the moment they touched down. 

Hydra knew they were going to be there, and had sent their own enhanceds against them. Natasha was thrown off the edge, and Sam dove after her. There wasn’t enough earth or metal for Lisa to use, so she had to resort to her training while Wanda tried to manipulate as many as she could. Steve had run off ahead of them, and was fighting his own combatants who were hitting him as hard he hit them. Lisa ran up next to him, throwing off one of his attackers punches before she was thrown back and over the side. 

“Sam, east side. Sordes went over.” Wanda spoke into her comms as she defended herself and the others as she could. 

“I’m coming!” 

Lisa looked up as she fell. Well this was good, her second mission out and already needing to be rescued. Two for two missions where she needed to be saved. And if Sam couldn’t get to her, she was going to be in a world of hurt. Well past whatever they could handle at the safe house. She left her hands up, trying to reduce the space Sam would have to cross to grab her. 

“I’m almost there Sordes!” Sam called out to her. Her eyes snapped open and she felt Sam’s hand wrap around her wrist. He pulled her up and towards the roof again.

“Sam! Throw me through the window, floor we’re at right now!” 

“You sure!?”

“YES!” Sam shattered the glass as they dove towards it, Lisa rolling to her feet as she ran forward, with her sidepiece in her hand. There were only two people in the room, and they both turned to look at her with shock before they were both dropped by the soft pops of her gun. 

“Sam where is she?” Steve called out as he managed to deal with the men that were stopping him. 

“Already in the building. I’m nearly to you.” Sam landed next to him as they all headed for the doors. 

“This is giving her more of a trial by fire then I had hoped but I guess…” Steve continued before Lisa’s voice cut through the chatter.

“You better not be saying you don’t think I can handle this Cap.” There was the sound of gun fire through the comm unit before she cursed. 

“Sordes, report your situation. Now.” 

“Under heavy fire… but...There it is.” Everyone heard the metal in the building groan before it shook. 

“That’s not a report Sordes!” Natasha called out as they ran down the stairs of the roof access. 

“I can report or I can clear out combatants. Can’t do both.” Lisa retorted as she pressed herself against the wall, her hands spread against it as the floor weakened and opened up underneath the people firing at her, dropping them three floors until they stopped moving. She let go of the wall, and brought her gun up, firing at the single one left. “6th floor, clear. Waiting on you.” Lisa leaned against the wall, her blood thrumming fast in her veins, hiding a small ache in her side from her, watching where the Hydra agents would come from. 

Exactly two minutes later, her team showed up. 

“Before you start, yes I know I should have reported properly, but it was defend or get hurt.” Lisa said as she holstered her gun. Steve didn’t look too happy, neither did Natasha, but Sam stepped up next to her and gently patted her shoulder. “You did good. Real good.” Wanda smiled at her and Lisa nodded back.

“Okay team move out. We’re here to collect then leave.” The group split apart, going with their designated teammates. Lisa ran with Sam and Wanda as they jumped down the hole she had made. They were headed for a surveillance room while Steve and Natasha finished clearing out the building of Hydra. 

Sam got them into the room and Lisa ran to the console, starting to search for the data they needed as well as pulling everything she could. Files were flying by as she searched, and her fingers flew over the keyboard, watching everything on her screen. Sam and Wanda were doing the same behind her. It took less than ten minutes, each of those minutes wracked with the sound of gunfire and fighting in their comms. Lisa laser focused on what she was doing, despite the stress and worry that invaded her body. 

“We got it all. ETA Cap?” Lisa called into her comm.

“Thirty seconds. Get to the jet, pick us up on the ground.” Steve called back, which got Sam and Wanda moving. Once they got back to the hole, Sam grabbed a hold of Lisa’s wrist and pulled her up with him. Lisa kept herself still to make it easier for him. Once they were back on the roof they were running for the quinjet, and Sam was quickly in the pilot’s seat, and taking off for them. 

Sam hovered at ground level for Steve and Natasha to be in the jet so that they could take off. Steve pulled his helmet off, and looked at the others, trying not to glare. He wasn’t mad at anyone, it was just a bad situation they made the best of.   
  
Wanda sat across from Lisa, keeping a careful eye on all of them. She was concerned about the tensions that were in the quinjet. Steve was pacing, frustrated energy keeping him moving. Natasha was already starting to go through the information that they found.

“Cap you gotta relax man. You’re making everyone edgy.” 

“I know Sam. I know. But that doesn’t change the fact that despite our planning that entire plan went to... Shit.” Steve had stalked up the quinjet to the pilot’s chair and when he turned around, Wanda was pulling Lisa out of her chair and down to the ground, with the other woman passed out. Steve slid next to them, and started checking over her body for the wound. 

“What happened?” He asked.

“I don’t know. She was fine one moment, surface thoughts on the information we found, then it was just a simple thought of she was going to pass out. Then she was listing to the side, and falling.” 

“There. Her side. It’s seeping into her suit.” Steve found it, taking the dagger Natasha handed him, and cut her uniform open. 

“I swear if she got shot because of that stupid stunt on her own…” He muttered to himself as Wanda handed him a gauze pad. 

“If she did, it was her own choice, and we wouldn’t have gotten through that nearly as fast without her.” Wanda replied to him as she helped him get it bandaged. 

“What’s happening back there?!” Sam asked. Natasha moved up to tell him what was going on, and Steve worked with Wanda to finish patching up Lisa.


	13. A Deal

When Lisa woke up, she was staring at her ceiling. She gave a groan as she sat up, a sharp pain running through her side and up her arm. “Hey, relax. You’re going to undo Steve’s work.” Lisa turned her attention to the side to look at Natasha who was sitting next to her bed on one of the kitchen chairs. 

“Wh-What happened?” Lisa croaked out. 

Natasha got up and moved over, and held out the glass of water to her. Lisa took her time drinking it down while Natasha moved to the door and yelled down the halls. She looked down at her body, seeing herself in a t-shirt and pajama shorts. She shifted back, with a hand over her side and leaned back against the headboard. 

Lisa could hear the heavy pounding of two men in combat boots plus the softer staccato of heels as Natasha let the others of the team into her room. Wanda dashed over to the bed and sat down on the edge next to her. “How are you feeling?”

Steve stood at the end of her bed, with Sam next to him, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests. 

“I’m… sore, achey. Side hurts something fierce. What happened? We were all in the quinjet.” Lisa asked, looking up at Sam and Steve. Sam relaxed his stance and moved to lean against the wall. 

“What happened was, you got shot. How could you not tell us!?” Steve was pissed, she could tell. There was a small tick in his jaw from how hard he had it clenched. 

“I...I didn’t know. Was running on adrenaline… falling will do that to you.” She replied, before she watched Natasha stand up. “Did...Did anyone else get hurt?”

“No, just you, thank god.” Natasha said as she strode towards the door gesturing for the rest to leave her alone and let her finish resting. Lisa relaxed back, keeping her hand on her side. Sam moved after Natasha and Wanda patted her shoulder before she got up and headed for the door as well. Steve hadn’t moved. “Rogers, if you’re going to reprimand her, let her recover a bit more okay?”

Steve just gave a nod, but didn’t move. Once the other three were out of the room, and they were alone and the door was closed, Steve strode forward and sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at her. 

“You know… you keep looking at me like that…” She had a small upturn to her lips, a sign she was going to tease him.

“What?! Why would it matter how I’m looking at you!?” Steve snapped at her. 

“Oh… this isn’t the time for a joke is it? You’re actually pissed at me.” The small smile was gone in an instant and she recoiled a little bit.

Steve had to stop, inhaling for a moment, and holding his breath. Then he let it out and looked down at his clasped hands. “I’m not pissed at you. I’m angry about how the mission went. Still.” 

“How long was I out?”

“Five hours.” Steve’s knee that wasn’t up on the bed started to bounce, his expression stormy. 

Lisa’s eyes roved over him. He hadn’t changed, he was in his stealth suit, gloves stained dark with what she could only assume was her blood, and dirt tracked across his face. “Steve why haven’t you gotten changed yet?”

Steve looked down at his clothing before he looked up at her. “Was too worried about you. I don’t know if I could have forgiven myself for that.” 

Lisa shifted closer to him, and reached out to touch him, but he jerked back. She let her hand drop into her lap. “Just let me wallow for a bit please. I’ll figure it out and come to terms with it all.” He said, before he looked at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I said, sore, achey. I’m sorry I worried you. But Steve you have to be honest with me here. Do you really think I’m capable? Because you don’t worry about Natasha, Sam, or Wanda nearly as much.” Lisa drew her knees up and hissed as she pulled the wound on her side. She put her leg down on the side that was hurt. She watched him press his lips together, considering his words. 

“Are you going to be mad if I tell you I don’t know?” 

Lisa hummed before she shook her head. “No. I won’t be mad. But you have to figure it out Steve. You can’t treat me different from the others. If you spend time worrying about me and whether or not you can trust me to do my job, you shouldn’t bring me. But I don’t want you to ground me either.” 

Steve sighed, leaning forward a little bit. “I do trust you.”

“But you question my capabilities?”

“No. I….” 

Lisa waited, leaned back against the headboard as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. “You just don’t have the training, or the experiences that the rest of us do. Your power is directly related to being in contact with the ground. Wanda just summons magic to her finger tips and can protect herself. Nat’s a super spy, Sam’s done tours for the military, he’s a soldier. So am I. But you… you’re a construction worker from Connecticut, who until about… 3 years ago was a civilian.” 

“And you were the one who asked me to help you. So why did you ask?” Lisa kept her voice calm, but her hand fisted in the sheets over her lap. 

“Because when it all happened, when everything was going down, I thought you would have the benefit of the Avengers. I had no idea that it would turn out like this, and I never ever would have thought that you’d give up all your freedoms to help me. Everytime we go out, I wonder if I’ve done enough, if we’ve done enough as a team to prepare you for what’s coming.” Steve didn’t look at her, and just rubbed his hands against each other in his gloves.

Lisa’s face scrunched up as she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his shoulder. “I won’t lie to you and tell you what I knew exactly what I was signing up for, because let’s be honest here Steve, I didn’t know shit. I really didn’t. But I also knew that no matter what came, I was going to do my damn best to support you and your decisions. It didn’t matter what I was going to face, I was going to be there. I wanted to be the best to help.” 

He lifted his arm and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t feel… lost before you asked me to join you that day in Washington, but I really felt like I had a purpose when I joined.” Lisa’s voice was a little muffled, until she shifted so that she was more comfortable with his arm around her. “I’ve been trying to throw myself into the training, so that I wouldn’t hold you or the team back.” 

“I know you have. I have to be better about not worrying about you, but it’s hard to not be concerned. Even with all the work you’ve done.. All the training you’ve completed, and honestly with better skills than we thought you’d get this fast, I still see you as that civilian I talked to three years ago.” Steve reached up to gently run his fingers through her hair. 

“That’s on you then Steve. It’s not like you don’t get shot.”

“No but I heal a lot faster than you do.” 

“I’m not going to disagree with you on that. But you can’t expect me to hide when we’re on a mission. If I see a way to do my job, I will. I have to. Come on, I’m being trained by Captain America! A man who can’t turn away from something going south. No matter how much he wanted to.” Lisa leaned back and he shifted his arm to help support her. 

He sighed softly, and looked down at her. “Okay. I’ll try to come to terms with this. Relax, heal up. I’ll come get you when we’re ready to eat.” He helped her lay back down before he stood up. He turned to head for the door and Lisa caught his hand for a moment. 

“Let’s compromise. You stop worrying about me, and I’ll consider my options more clearly from now on to help you reduce your worry.” He looked back at her as she spoke before nodding.

“Deal.”


	14. The Beach

It was another three months, small missions, pairs or a trio, that took out small change. If Lisa went on a mission it was with Sam or Steve, since the three worked together as a pair or trio well. Their abilities complimented each other. The deal was working out well. Lisa played it a little safer, and Steve managed to control his worry a little bit more. It made for a more cohesive team and a significantly more comfortable living situation. 

During those three months, Lisa and Steve would talk, learn more about each other. About what makes them tick and click. When they wanted to just spend time talking, they took to playing chess against each other. It was usually down to the final moves before he managed to outsmart her. There was plenty of talk about how they planned to make things work out and what the plan was to keep the peace. It was a fantasy, a world where Steve and Tony made up, and the team was together again. 

It was warm, so Lisa suggested that they sit outside to play their game of chess. 

“Sure. That sounds like a good idea.” He smiled as he picked up the chess board and moved towards the porch the house had. She grabbed them both glasses and a pitcher full of fruit punch to go with it before she got one of the small side tables, setting it up next to the one they’d use for the game. 

She settled into the chair across from him, setting up her black chess pieces. Her hands folded over her stomach, over the gunshot wound in her side. 

“So what’s on the slate for today?” He asked as he moved his pawn forward one. 

“Well, Nat said she had something to do with contacting Wakanda, Sam and Wanda are out on that mission we sent them on, simple surveillance, which leaves you and me on our own. So, what do you want to talk about Steve?” Lisa leaned forward a little bit before she smiled and shifted her king’s side knight out into play. 

“Hmm… That’s a good question. I think perhaps we should keep things light, if we can.” Steve’s queen moved into play, a fairly common opening for him. 

“Light. Okay. Any ideas?” She asked, tilting her head as she regarded the board in front of her. She nudged the queen’s pawn forward a square before she sat back. 

“Favorite holiday?” Steve moved his bishop one square to defend his queen. 

“My birthday. Which coincidentally was always on labour day weekend. Well we always celebrated it on labour day.” Her move was queen side bishop to threaten his queen. 

“When is your birthday actually?” Blue eyes regarded the map, looking for his ways out of this predicament. He had his queen in a bad position, but it wouldn’t stop him. Back and forth, and move things in small ways that would ensure his victory. Queen take Bishop.

“August 23rd.” Her knight took his queen. “Is your birthday actually the fourth of July or was that just the day that you became Captain America?”

“No, it’s actually the fourth of July.” His bishop took her knight. 

“Now that’s just convenient.” She shifted her king’s pawn forward two squares before reaching over to pour both of them a glass of juice. 

“Yeah, tell me about it. The government was over the moon about it.” Steve hummed softly before he shifted a pawn forward from in front of his knight, queen side.

Lisa got her king side bishop out of the way, before she sipped from her glass. 

“But you didn’t answer the question really. Favorite holiday Lisa?” Steve shifted his rook, king side, pawn forward two.

She gave a small laugh before she slouched a little in her chair and crossed her legs. “It’s a toss up. New years or Valentine’s day. I’m a sucker for romance, and who doesn’t like celebrating the new year? I enjoyed the few of Tony’s parties I attended. Hope we can hit up a few more in the future.” She castled her king, king side, and then watched Steve carefully. “What’s yours?”

White, king pawn forward one. “Christmas. I always enjoyed sitting in front of a fire with a book.” 

“That sounds so… pleasant.” 

“It really is.” 

Lisa moved her queen side knight in front of the rook pawn. “Maybe we’ll do something like that this year. I mean even bad guys have to take a vacation right? Historically proven and everything.” 

“It’s true. You know I was there when there was that truce on Christmas. It was eerie, but nice.” Steve sipped from his glass, before he moved his king side knight in front of the king. Neither of them saw Natasha step back from the door, and head to her room. She was going to keep that information handy. She had known what Steve’s birthday was but could not remember Lisa’s. And they were just hitting August, so it was coming up soon.

“Next topic then Steve.” She moved king side bishop to in front of his king side bishop. 

“Your turn to choose.” Queen side bishop, out in front of the queen side rook pawn.

“Hmm…” She drank deep from her glass while she considered her options here. The pawn in front of her rook was moved before she looked at him. He was watching her, not the move she made. “Okay. For you then. Favorite invention since you woke up.” 

Steve laughed as he leaned back against his chair. “Ooo that’s a tough one.” He gave a small hum before he reached forward, king side rook forward as far as it could go.

Her move was quick before he had a chance to reply. Queen forward one.

“Honestly, it’s a toss up between cellphones and the internet.” He shifted his rook all the way towards the queen side.

“Good choices.” She took the bishop with her pawn.

“Your turn. The childhood thing you miss the most.” Queen pawn forward two.

Black bishop take white pawn. Steve was seeing the moves ahead of them and the end game. She was playing this smart. “Saturday cartoons with a bowl of cereal in front of the television.” Lisa finished off her glass before she poured herself another and topped Steve’s off. His king moved into queen’s position.

Lisa hummed softly. “Though I suppose I can get right back into that habit now. Assuming we’re here on saturdays.” 

Steve gave a grin and a small shrug. Lisa moved her queen to in front of her castled rook. “You could. Could be interesting. I used to have to watch them in the theatre. Think I could join you?” His next move was another king movement, getting it close to his queen side knight.

“Yeah sure. I’d like that.” Her queen went deep into enemy territory, taking the white pawn that stood in her way. “Feet up on the coffee table, pajamas, Looney Toons and bowl of sugary cereal.” 

He slid his king into the strong hold he had set up. “That sounds nice.” 

“It is. Hell tomorrow’s saturday. Set your alarm for 8, we’ll watch some cartoons.” Lisa’s expression got serious, they were getting into the point where he would start to turn it against her. Her queen moved behind his knight before settling back. 

Conversation went on hold as they made rapid moves. Eyes were focused on the game, drink and conversation forgotten. In the end, she trapped him on her side of the board, two queens at her use. She gave a short crow of happiness, pumping her fists a little bit. This was the first time that she had beaten him in fifteen games. “Your streak comes to an end Steve!” She smiled widely, and sat back with a sigh of happiness. 

“Well done Lisa. That was well played.” He grinned at her, and put his hand on the table. “Next game?” 

Lisa shook her head. “Oh no, I’m going to enjoy this victory for a bit.” She covered his hand with hers, before she looked out on the back yard. “It’s a warm day out. Almost wish there was a pool here you know? It’s just that kind of day.” 

Steve sipped from his glass before he furrowed his brow in thought. He looked down at his lap for a moment before he stood up. “Get changed.” 

“What?”

“Go get changed. Bathing suit underneath some motorcycle appropriate clothing. I’ll take care of everything else.” He said moving back into the house. Lisa looked after him confused before she quickly packed the chess set away, and brought the pitcher and glasses inside. Then she quickly dashed to her room, got changed into a one piece swimsuit, and with some great regret, pulled on her jeans and leather chaps, along with a button up and leather jacket. She pulled on her boots, bare foot, before grabbing her leather gloves and running for the garage. 

“Where are we going?” She asked Steve who was just finishing up tying a set of panniers to his bike. 

“You’ll see. It’s my turn for surprises, so you’ll have to be patient.” He said as he tossed her a helmet. She got her hair pulled out of the way and the helmet on before he had his on as well. He pulled out the passenger foot rests before he kick started his motorcycle and climbed on. She swung a leg over and settled in close to his back. “Hold on tight.” He said into the helmets which were linked.

“Did you tell Nat where we were going?” Lisa asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her chin on his shoulder. 

“Yeah. Told her we’d miss dinner, and not to wait up for us.” Lisa grinned behind her helmet and watched the scenery go by. It was such a delight, and she grinned as he drove her where they were headed. When he pulled to a stop and got the kick stand down, they had been on the road for nearly an hour. He helped her off the bike before he grabbed the panniers, and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. She walked with him and soon found herself in a small inlet off of a lake. It was peaceful, no one around for miles. He set the pannier up in a tree before he started to pull off his own leathers. She got her boots off first, sinking her feet into the sand with a smile as she started to pull her own leathers off. When they were both down to their swimsuits, she glanced over at him, seeing the scars that littered his skin, the definition of his muscles as they flexed while he moved and walked towards the water. She had to stop, just enjoying the look. Because honestly, it was a good look. And sue her, she was enjoying his ass in those swim trunks, she wasn’t dead yet. 

She wondered at every scar. It made her want to hear every story, every battle. Some were definitely more fresh than others. Lisa laughed softly to herself before she was staring right at his chest. Taking a startled step back, her hand went up and his wrapped around her wrist. She gave a shriek as he hauled her up over his shoulder. 

“Steve, put me down! Put me down!” She hollered as he held her knees tight to his chest. Her hands slapped against his back, trying to get him to put her down. She knew where he was going, and she wasn’t ready to be fully dunked, so she struggled to be put down. “Steven Grant Rogers if you don’t put me down this god damn instant I swear I will bury you in the sand until the tide comes in!” She threatened before realizing how deep into the water they were.

“As you wish.” He grinned right before he threw her into the water. She screamed as she hit the water and submerged. She broke the surface before hearing him laughing at her. She splashed him full on in the face, causing him to sputter and shake the water off. “Oh now you’re going to get it.” He said as he dove for her. She shot herself backwards, and he missed, only to start chasing her. She shrieked good naturedly at the chase, until he caught her. She shoved back, toppling them over back into the water and broke free before they both surfaced laughing with each other. 

“This is great.” She looked at him, treading water next to him. 

“Yeah. I sometimes have good ideas.”

“You have good ideas a lot. Come on, let’s warm up in the sun for a bit. Water’s nice, but It would be really nice to alternate with sun tanning and the water.” She started to swim for the shore, Steve keeping pace beside her. Once they were out of the water, towels pulled from the pannier and set out, he laid down next to her. She reached out, put a hand on his chest and the sand on their feet dropped away. Lisa moved to pull her hand back, but he caught it instead, leaving it pressed against his skin. 

She turned her head to the side and looked at him with a small smile. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, and turned his face to look at her. “You know… I haven’t said it yet… but the facial hair… it’s a good look for you.” 

“You think so?”

“Nah I know so.” She turned a little bit and reached out and ran her hand through his beard. “Will you tell me some stories about those scars?” 

“Sure. Pick one.” Lisa smiled at him before she pointed at the one on his shoulder. “Oh that’s a good one.” Steve grinned as he turned his head back to the sky. “This was one of the times I fought someone bigger than me. Buck showed up, as I was getting thrown into a wall. There was a large shard of glass and it got stuck in my shoulder. Buck had to fix it, patch me up. But it was worth it.” Steve’s eyes roamed her body for a moment, as if looking for one of her own to ask about. “The one down at your ankle. What’s the story there?”

Lisa lifted her leg, turning her ankle to look at it. “Hmmm… I was six? May have been 8. I broke my ankle climbing a tree. Well it was more the fall. Climbing wasn’t the issue. Was in a cast for three months. Lost out on my chance to play baseball that year.”

They spent the next three hours trading stories about scars. He asked about her tattoos, of which she had three that were highly visible. They were in the water again when he caught sight of one more, just barely winking at him on her shoulder under her suit. He had reached out to lift her suit so that he could see what it was, but she slapped her hand over it. “Oh no, not that one. That’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Come on, I shared some embarrassing stories with you!” Steve protested as he caught her around the waist and lifted her up. “Please?” 

She frowned as she considered before she tapped him on his shoulder. “Put me down.” Steve let her feet touch the lake bed, and thought he had gone too far before she turned around and pulled her swimsuit to the side. The tattoo on her shoulder was an exceedingly well done tattoo of his shield as if it was being ripped from her skin, with the words “I can do this all day” on the skin that looked like it was peeling up. He reached out and ran his fingers over her shoulder.

“Oh…” 

“Yup, embarrassing.” She wouldn’t turn to look at him, her neck flushed red in her embarrassment.

“It’s gorgeous. And I can feel how tense you are. What’s wrong?” He leaned in to look at it more closely. 

“I don’t want you to think I was some stalker or something.” She mumbled, but he heard it clear as day because of his super soldier hearing.

“I could never think of you like that. This is an amazing tribute, what made you get it?” He asked as he tugged her suit from her hand, letting it settle back onto her back. 

Steve turned her to face him, but she kept her face turned down. He pulled her towards the shore again, letting her get comfortable on the towel before he went to pannier to get the food he had brought for them. “Lisa I don’t think you’re a stalker. I used to get fanmail all the time with photos of tattoos of me, or what I stand for. Some of it’s great. Some of it’s…. Not so great. Yours is gorgeous. So tell me why, please.” He sat down across from her and handed her a drink. She cracked it open and drank deep. 

“You know…. I doubt you’d know him, but my great grandfather served during World War II. You saved his life by breaking the lines before his battalion was designated to assault. I remember him telling me stories of the Star Spangled Man with a Plan, and he set you up on this pedestal like some figure to aspire to be like. Grandfather talked about you too, but a lot less… hero worship coloured. He was bitter about you going under the ice, leaving the world when he believed it needed you the most. Mom… Mom took me to the museum and told me stories instead. Told me a lot of things that didn’t sound right. I figured out later that most of it wasn’t right, and she was making up stuff around your redacted files.” He listened to her talk without interrupting, eating his sandwich and held hers out to her. 

Lisa took it from him, unwrapping it and taking a bite of it before she kept talking. “So I had to try and filter out what I knew about you and what I wound up learning about you from you. It’s partly an homage to you, and partly to my family. My great grandfather’s hero worship, my grandfather’s disillusionment, and my mother’s romanticism. But mostly, it was for me. A reminder of the person that I want to be. To be the woman who no matter how many times she’s beaten down, told to kneel or forced into a corner, that she just keeps fighting for those that matter. That she keeps right on being the best person she can be without fear of being wrong.” 

Her head tilted to the side and he reached out to cup her cheek. “That’s a great reason to get it. I’m supposed to be a symbol of hope, so this is perfect. Thank you for sharing it with me. When did you get it?” He smiled as he tilted her face up so that she looked at him for the first time since he had seen the edge of the tattoo. 

“Right after everything that happened in Sokovia, before you asked me to join.”


	15. Dampeners

There were no 8 am cartoons the next day. When they got back, Sam and Wanda had information and they had to move on it fast. They got changed, and moved on towards the mission. It resulted in a lengthy chase that ended in their target getting away. The next mission was much of the same. Data destroyed before they got to it, and Hydra agents escaping. And the mission after that. Morale was low, tensions were high. Sam and Lisa were snapping at each other’s throats, and even though Wanda offered to help everyone relax for a bit, it was almost vehemently refused. High tensions resulted in one last mission going impossibly south.

From the moment they set foot on the ground things went wrong. As they tore through the compound looking for what they were here for, there were so many things that could be used to stop them. A high security box that looked strong enough to restrain even Steve, various dampeners, and enough tranquilizers and shock traps to take down a herd of elephants. 

This took longer than any of their other missions combined, long enough that the Avengers were on their way. And they hadn’t found the information to track down Klaue either. 

“Cap we have to go! Sensors are showing two of Tony’s mechs coming our way!” 

“Sordes, Wanda, move! Get to the quinjet, we have to go!” Natasha shouted into her comms over the roar of machinery where she was. 

Wanda took off up to where Sam had the quinjet already in the air and Lisa started to follow before she was tackled off her earthen pillar. She struggled against the Hydra agent that had a hold of her. 

“Wanda, where’s Sordes?!”

“I don’t know, she was right behind me!” 

Voices melded together as she fought off her attacker. He was pinning her to the ground, but was managing to keep her hands and feet from touching. He knew who she was and the basics of how her powers operated. 

“Sordes, where are you?!” Steve’s voice broke through the chatter, but she was struggling as a pair of dampeners were slammed on her wrists. She lost her connection to her powers, and gave a frustrated scream. Lisa smashed her forehead against his, and he pulled back, slightly dazed. It gave her enough space to be able to fight him off. 

“I’m pinned on the ground, just go.” 

“Pinned where?” 

She got her feet planted on his chest and kicked him off her, sending him flying back. “Cap you guys gotta go. Can’t risk you getting captured. I’m grounded. Dampening bracelets.” 

Lisa scrambled to her feet and took off running. The dampeners would be on until she got someone to take them off. 

“Where are you?!”

“Running!” Lisa snarled back as she grabbed a gun from a fallen combatant, and turned to fire for a moment against the ones who were still chasing her, forcing them to scatter. She stopped focusing on the chatter in her ear piece as she ran, before she slid into an alleyway and got herself lost in the twists and turns. She ran for almost an hour, before she stopped, leaning back against the wall she was next to. Her comms had gone silent sometime past her first thirty minutes running. She gripped her side, the side she had been shot on, and had to lean forward, pulling her mask off for a moment to get better airflow. She was near a fire escape and when she heard feet coming up behind her, she climbed up the fire escape and pulled it up behind her. Lisa checked the window, found it locked before she went up the next level, and found an open window, slipping in as whoever it was that showed up rounded the corner. 

She hid next to the window and didn’t move. Lisa slowed her breath down, holding it as she listened. It was hard to hear anything over the throbbing of her heart. She leaned her head back against the wall before a hand was clamped over her mouth. Lisa gripped the wrist, giving a muffled scream of frustration, and tried to turn her head to see who it was, but it was clear when the figure stepped in through the window. The dark stealth suit was a dead give away. Her body was shaking as she stared up at the blue eyes that stared back. 

He put his finger to his lips and she nodded. Steve pulled his hand back and helped her to her feet, jerking his head towards the door. The place was abandoned, and the pair headed for the roof. They were silent as they ran, until they hit the roof. The quinjet was waiting for them, and they both jumped on before Natasha flew the quinjet out of the location. Steve glanced down at Lisa’s wrists. “Hey Wanda, can you break those?”

“No… The moment my powers touch them, it fizzles out.” Wanda shook her head after trying. 

Lisa looked at them all. “How did you find me?”

Steve gestured to his ear piece. “You didn’t turn your ear piece off, so we were able to track you.” 

“Thanks for coming back for me… In spite of this…” she held her wrists, before she staggered. Steve reached out and caught her. “Wouldn’t have blamed you if you left me behind.” 

“You did good Lisa, all things considered. Nearly gave me the slip and I had a way to track you.” He said as he helped her sit down. The moment she sat down, with her wrists near each other, they slammed together, the dampeners acting like cuffs. 

Steve, Sam and Wanda all looked over at her at the loud snap of her dampeners clamping together. She looked up at them with a look of resignation. “At least I can still move my fingers this time.” 

There was a beat of silence, filled only with the subtle sounds of the quinjet before Steve gave a cut off chuckle, which started Sam laughing. Lisa followed with her own laugh before she settled back into the seat. 

“We don’t have the equipment to handle this back at the house.” Steve said as he crouched in front of her, looking at the dampeners. 

“Nope. So what’s the plan then Steve?”

“We’re not heading back to the house anyway.” Natasha called back. “Got a different idea, it’ll be good for all of us especially after the last month.” 

Everyone looked at Natasha with curiosity, but didn’t ask, instead just settling in and relaxing against their seats. She flew them for hours until they got to the familiar borders of Wakanda. Natasha landed the quinjet outside the palace and moved to one of the compartments as everyone else got to their feet. The spy grabbed five packed bags, and handed them to everyone. Except for Lisa, whose she kept a hold of for her. 

Waiting for them was a Wakandan delegation, composed of Princess Shuri and a small escort. “Welcome back!” She was all smiles, which faded upon seeing how downtrodden they all were. “What happened?” Shuri stepped forward, and the escort moved to the side to allow her forward, but followed just a step behind her. 

“Bad month of missions.” Sam replied as he shrugged out of his wing suit and walked towards the group. 

“And we have a small problem.” Steve said as he stepped aside to show Lisa’s dampeners. 

Shuri’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the dampeners. She nodded, and immediately bustled Lisa towards her work space. “I’ll bring her to you all once this is over!” She called over her shoulder. Lisa was a little overwhelmed looking over her shoulder at the others who just smiled and waved her off. 

* * *

Steve made a beeline directly towards Bucky’s hut and knocked on the door. His bag was slung over his shoulder and when the door opened, he grinned at the other man who grinned back. They hugged each other before Steve stepped in with Bucky and set his bag down next to the door.

“How you been Buck?”

“Good. It’s peaceful here. Still feels weird without an arm, but I’m managing.” Bucky grinned as he moved to sit in his living area and Steve moved to sit down as well. “Ah, I think you better take a shower first. You’re looking a little gross. And shave your damn face punk.” 

Steve laughed before he grabbed his bag and moved to use Bucky’s shower to get cleaned up. Fifteen minutes later, he was stepping back out, in nothing more than a pair of sweatpants and a towel which he was using to dry off his facial hair. 

“Thought I told you to shave your face Steve.” Bucky grinned at the other man. 

“I’ve got it on good authority that it looks good, so it’s staying.” Steve sat down across from him as he crossed his legs. 

“So tell me what you’ve been up to. The short updates I get from Nat aren’t good enough.” Bucky settled in to listen to Steve talk. They talked for hours about everything that Steve and the other vigilantes were up to. Bucky kept careful eyes on Steve as he talked, seeing the way his eyes light up and he smiled whenever he talked about the other enhanced on the team. He didn’t even think that Steve realized that he was doing it. But Bucky was watching the same light come into his eyes he had when he had talked about Peggy, all those years ago. He’d let it go, see how it all turned out. Maybe Steve would figure it out himself first.

Steve asked about how things were going with Bucky. Bucky told Steve about how he actually felt like he was in control of his own life since World War II. And how even though he was missing an arm, he didn’t feel useless. He had things to do, ways to feel like he could manage his own depression with it all. It was evening when one of the people who worked with Shuri came to collect Steve and Bucky.

Steve pulled on a shirt and shoes before he and Bucky followed the woman towards the workshop. Sam, Wanda and Natasha were already there, with Lisa sitting on the operating table. “What’s going on?” Steve asked, crossing his arms over his chest when he stopped moving.

“Well there’s a problem….” Shuri said. 

Lisa lifted her wrists which were still together, before she put them back in her lap. “We haven’t been able to get them off.” 

Steve’s eyebrows pulled down and looked confused. “How?”

“The technology is… good. We have to disable it in such a way that it won’t hurt her when it comes off or that it’s permanent that her powers are locked. I’ll keep working on it, I like a challenge, just like your friend there. But Lisa here will be staying here for the night in her stealth gear.” Shuri said as she pulled up the schematics she had been able to make from the dampeners. Steve’s eyes went down to Lisa’s hands, seeing how her hands were clenched tight to each other. She wasn’t injured, which he was happy to see, but she was scared. And he didn’t blame her. 

“Right. Have you all gotten something to eat?” He asked, all business. 

“No, we wanted to make sure we gave Shuri whatever help we could for Lisa.” Sam spoke up, his hands in his pockets. 

“Then you guys should go get something to eat, rest.” Bucky spoke up, stepping over to them, and getting a hug from Natasha. “Steve and I will stay here with Lisa so she’s not alone. Princess Shuri, I know how you are about food in the lab, but can we make an exception?” 

Shuri glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “Of course. I can’t have her passing out on me while we work.” She smiled before looking at one of her assistants, speaking quickly in Wakandan, before the woman nodded and gestured for the others to follow her. “Go with her, she’ll make sure you’re fed and bring a meal down for the rest of us. Work day is nearly done here, but I won’t stop until we get that sorted.” She pointed at the dampeners with a small screwdriver and Lisa gave a tight smile. 

“Thanks Princess Shuri.” 

Natasha, Sam and Wanda headed off after their guide before Steve pulled over a couple chairs for himself and Bucky. The pair sat down on either side of Lisa, and lowered the bed so that she wasn’t looking down at them, and that they weren’t craning their necks to look up at her. 

“How are you holding up?” Bucky asked, leaning forward a bit on his arm. 

“Not great. You know, I could always feel the earth moving. It was just another part of me, an extension. It was always there. Even when I was on the Raft, and in that plastic cell, I wasn’t this disconnected. I could still feel the metal in the Raft, and if I could touch it with my hands or feet, I’d have been able to move it. But this… this is completely gone. I feel like I’m missing a part of myself…” She stared at the dampeners before she glanced at the pair that was listening to her. There was a pillow over her hands now, held in place by Steve’s hand. 

“Don’t stress yourself out by staring at them.” He said and she nodded. 

“Okay.” She said softly.

“We’re going to get this fixed, I promise.” Steve said, giving a smile at her. 

“And Captain America always keeps his promises if he can.” She smiled back at him, relaxing a little bit more. “Take my mind off of it. Bucky what have you been up to?”

Bucky smiled and told her the banal stories of what he had been up to in Wakanda while he recovered. It was effective, she was able to forget what was around her wrists until food was brought over to them, and it was difficult to eat with her hands viced together, but she didn’t want to be fed either. She took a moment to breathe before she removed her hands from under the pillow and ate. Steve looked like he was about to reach out to help her, but a sharp glance from Bucky stopped him. It would be more humiliating for her to be fed her food instead of letting her struggle.

It took her much longer than the two super soldiers to eat, and they ate twice the amount she did. Once she was done, she hid her hands underneath the pillow again. T'Challa entered the lab after dinner was served and stood next to Shuri, looking at the plans. He approached Lisa and the super soldiers, nodding to both of the men. 

“Your majesty.” Lisa said as she got to her feet, and set the pillow aside, bowing to him. 

T’Challa waved his hand to set aside her bowing. “Sit, please.” He said as he pulled a chair over as well and sat down across from her. 

Lisa sat back down and pulled the pillow back over her hands. “I am sorry for the interference I gave to you during our...confrontation.” She said, watching the man in front of her. Steve shifted closer to her, just a little bit and pressed his knuckles against her calf so that she could draw from his strength. 

“I understand your position even if I did not agree with it at the time. And now with those dampeners, I know you are having a very rough time.” He said with his arms crossed over his chest. “Captain Rogers, tell me, what is it that you are planning to do after this? Miss Romanoff has informed me of what has been going on. I am glad that my safe house has worked out well for you.” 

Steve nodded. “It has been a great location, and very beneficial to what we have needed. Our next step I think is to regroup, do some more training. This may have been something that was a little bit more than we could chew.” 

Bucky gave a small nod. “That’s what it sounded like. Too bad it resulted in this though.” 

“I’m literally sitting right here you two.” Lisa grouched softly, but she pressed her calf a little tighter to Steve’s knuckles.


	16. Late Night Confessions

It was late into the night when Shuri called it quits for the night. The dampeners were still on, but Shuri gave Lisa’s promises that she would get them off the next day but she had to sleep. T’Challa had bid them goodnight when Shuri had, and Bucky had turned in shortly after. Steve stood up to go as well, but Lisa reached out and grabbed the edge of his shirt. 

“Steve…Can you stay for just a little bit? I know you want to spend time with Bucky… But please?”

He turned to look at her, seeing just how terrified she was. “Of course Lisa. I’m not going anywhere. Talk to me, what’s on your mind?”

“I’m scared. I’ve faced down Hydra agents, faced down the other half of the Avengers and I wasn’t this scared. What if they don’t come off?” She looked up at him, tears starting to brim in her eyes. He immediately sat back down but next to her this time and pulled her in close to his side, arms wrapped around her. “I’ve been shot, thrown across rooms, fallen off buildings, and faced off against Hydra enhanceds. And if these don’t come off… I… I’m useless.” She turned her face into his shoulder and leaned against him. 

“You’re not useless, these cuffs are going to come off, and we’re going to keep doing what we have been doing, and it will be like nothing’s happened.” He rubbed her upper arm. 

“How can you have so much optimism? Steve… She tried for thirteen hours. She’s as smart as Tony, and they’re still not off.” The tears spilled over and she choked back a sob. She felt so powerless. More than she had ever felt during training when Natasha had been kicking her ass in training or when she had faced off against Steve and it had been like she was nothing more than paper. 

Steve shifted her so that she sat in his lap and he held her. “Go ahead and cry Lisa… I’m going to be the last to judge you for it.” He whispered before she lost her control and started to cry. She was terrified, but had held herself together, until now. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt and she sobbed out of fear of what would happen if they couldn’t get the cuffs off. She couldn’t even go back to being a regular person if they didn’t get them off, she was a wanted criminal. He leaned his cheek against the top of her head before he rubbed his hand over her upper arm in comfort. 

She eventually calmed down and just rested there, sniffling. He brought his hand up to her cheek and cupped it, brushing her tears away. “I have to be optimistic, or else all I would have is despair. We’re going to fix this, even if I have to turn myself in to get you to Tony.” He said softly. 

“No!” she nearly snarled the words before she relaxed. “I would rather stay here and wallow in my own despair then have you give up your freedom for me. I can’t do that. I won’t.” She leaned back to look at him, giving a small shuddering breath. “Don’t you dare ask me to do that.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that.” He helped support her, moving his hand down to her thigh to keep her from sliding off his lap. 

“No… you’d just do it without asking me. Just to help me.” She got off his lap, his arms coming away from around her. She started to pace, and he shifted to lean his forearms against his knees. 

“Of course I would do it to help you. That’s what I do Lisa. You know that.” 

“God damn it Steve! You can’t honestly expect me to be okay with it.” 

“I’m not expecting that. I know you’d be upset by it. And would try to talk me out of it.” 

Lisa stopped pacing and whirled back to him, her eyes red rimmed and looking upset, but not about the cuffs anymore. “How dare you. Of course I would try to talk you out of it Steve!” She strode right back to him, and poked a finger in his chest. “I can’t do this with you. I can’t lose you after I’ve lost everything else. My parents, my job, and now my freedom. Yes I’m friends with Sam and Wanda and Natasha, and in time I’m sure I’ll be friends with Barnes, but Steve, I’m not anywhere as close to them as I am to you. I… I tried so hard to stop this from happening, I swear I did.” She whirled back away from him, but got stopped when he caught hold of the dampeners. 

“Why would you try to stop being my friend?” He asked, brows furrowed in confusion. 

Her face was turned away from him, still trying to hold back tears as she tried to figure out what to say and how to say it “Not...not that. Christ this is fucking inappropriate to say right now. You just held me while I cried after a very stressful day, you’re technically my commanding officer but if I don’t say it, I’m going to fucking go crazy. Steve I fell in love with you. And I don’t know when. But I know why.” She was able to get her wrists from his grip and fully turned away from him. “Christ I fell in love with the one man I can’t have.” 

Steve stared at her back, and brought both of his hands pressed together up over his mouth. “I…”

“Don’t. Don’t you dare apologize for this Steve. Please.” She was tense with her back to him, and he could see how it was making her almost vibrate in her upsetness. 

“I won’t. I won’t apologize, but I… I can’t return your feelings right now…and I don’t know if I will be able to return them ever...”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Her voice was bitter, and it was clear that she had been expecting this outcome since she had come to the realization about it. There were tears in her voice again, and he wanted to hug her and make it go away like he had before, but he knew that this would just make it worse. He stood up and came up behind her, bracketing her shoulders in his hands.

“I care about you Lisa. I don’t know if it’s love or if it will ever turn into love. But I care about you. So much.” 

“I know you do Steve. Just… Let me wallow. Please. I’m tired… I think it’s time I got some sleep. Not like I can wander around with my hands cuffed like this, wouldn’t look good for us. Can… Can you help me with my boots please? Then just… just go. I want to be alone for a while before Shuri comes back.” Lisa leaned back against him for a moment like nothing had changed and he led her back over to the examination table, and up onto it, before he knelt on one knee and helped her with her boots like she asked. He set them off to the side and then stood up, looking at her tear streaked face, wishing that he could comfort her the way she needed. But he couldn’t lie to her, not about something like this. He doubted he would get another chance like this for a while. He reached for her cheek, cupping it gently despite her flinch, and pressed his lips to her other one.

“Sleep well Lisa.” 

“Sleep well Steve.” She echoed softly, leaning into his cheek kiss before she rolled over onto the table and curled up in a ball. Steve covered her with a blanket before he beat feet to Bucky’s hut. He’d crash on his floor for the night since all his stuff was still there anyway.


	17. A Surprise Birthday Party

When Bucky woke up, it was to Steve sleeping on his living area floor. The super soldier moved over and stared at him sleeping there for just a minute before he nudged him with his foot to wake the other up. Steve startled out of sleep, sitting up right. “Morning.”

“You look like shit. What happened?” Bucky didn’t bother beating around the bush, as he moved to the small kitchen to get coffee on the go. It didn’t do anything for him, but he liked the taste.

Steve got to his feet, adjusting his pants into place before he moved to the bathroom for a moment. “I don’t know Buck. Lisa told me something and I’m not sure what to do with it.” The bathroom door closed, and Bucky leaned back against his counter, waiting for Steve to come back out. He crossed his arm over his chest, staring at the door. 

Once the door was open, Steve moved over to lean next to Bucky, looking out into the small living area Bucky had called his own. 

“What did she say to you?”

Steve blew out a breath and shrugged. “I don’t know if I should share it. It’s compromising, not just for me but for her.”

“Who the fuck do you think I’m going to tell?” Bucky turned around, pouring himself a cup of hot coffee before offering Steve one as well. Steve accepted it and moved to sit at the small kitchen table. 

“That’s not the point. I don’t want you to look at her differently because of it. Hell I didn’t even know until she told me.” Steve sipped the coffee and sighed softly. It was hitting the spot after the night he had. 

Bucky waited for Steve to come to terms with what he wanted to say, keeping his mouth shut and enjoying his morning coffee. 

“She told me she’s in love with me.” 

The words were quiet, soft. Bucky almost missed them over the sound of a local bird cawing as it called to the others of its kind. 

“She told you she’s in love with you?”

Steve’s hands spread as if he were laying out the information. “I don’t know where it came from.” 

Bucky waited for Steve to look up at him, and held an unimpressed look on his face. “Really? You can’t figure out where it came from? Is she in love with Captain America or Steve Rogers?”

“Steve.” 

“And you can’t figure out where it comes from!? Punk some days you are real dense you know that?” Bucky put his mug down and leaned forward a little bit. “You showed her the best side of you, of course she fell in love with you.” 

Steve looked confused before it clicked. “Oh. I suppose that… that makes sense. But there was nothing, no I like you, no I’m attracted to you, just right to I’m in love with you.” 

“And if she told you she liked you would it have complicated things? Would it have made things awkward, just like they are now?” 

“Probably.” 

“So you can see why she didn’t do it. I don’t know her very well, but she seems like she’s got a decent head on her shoulders. You face high stress situations, and you were already worried over her abilities since she’s not a soldier like you or Sam or a spy like Nat. How would you have reacted if she had confessed earlier?” Bucky picked up his coffee, drinking again. He felt like a therapist, but after all the times Steve had listened to him talk about girls before, he felt like he owed the other man.

“Not well. I probably would have kept her at the safe house.” Steve’s hands wrapped around the mug, and let the warmth seep into his skin. 

“Which wouldn’t have gone well for any of you.” 

They sat in silence for a while before Bucky and Steve both looked at the door as there was a knock on it. “Hey Cap, we got Lisa’s dampener’s off. Shuri had a breakthrough this morning.” Sam called through the door. Bucky gestured to the door and stood up with Steve as the pair moved over to open the door. 

“That’s good to hear. How she doing?”

“Looks like she didn’t sleep all night but I can’t imagine those dampeners were too comfortable.” Sam said as he leaned against the door frame. “Oh, Nat told me to tell you to get changed into the wrapped bag in your bag she handed you yesterday. Wouldn’t tell me what was in it, just to do it.” He said, before he pushed off the frame. “And for you Barnes.” He held the wrapped package out to the other soldier who nodded.

“No idea what this is for?” Bucky asked, his conversation with Steve on his mind, but being put on the back burner for now.

“None. Nat’s been rather closed mouth about this.” 

“Well that’s typical for her.” Steve spoke up as he stepped back to root around in the bag he had left next to the chair he had sat in the night before. 

“Yeah. You coming back up to the Palace then?”

“Yeah we’ll be up once we’re changed. Nat say when she wanted us there?” Steve asked as he found the wrapped bag. 

“She originally said noon, but given that it’s almost noon now she said mid afternoon. See you in a couple hours. I’m going to go get changed myself.” Sam grinned at them, and moved off towards the palace to get into his own packaged outfit. Once the door was closed, Bucky looked over at Steve.

“So what’s in the package?”

Steve pulled it out and brought it over to the kitchen table. Once he got it open, he looked at the blue suit that was revealed. 

“Buck what day is it?”

“Thursday.” 

“The date Buck.” 

“August 23rd. Why?”

* * *

It took Steve and Bucky a half hour to get ready, with Steve lending his help with Bucky’s suit. They were both in darker coloured suits, Bucky in a nice deep red and Steve in blue. They had folded up the empty sleeve of Bucky’s before they walked up towards the palace. Once they were up there, Natasha met them dressed in a little black dress and heels and led them towards the room she had set up. 

“Lisa went to have a nap when she got the cuffs off. She’ll be by when she’s woken up.” 

“This is for her birthday isn’t it?” Steve asked.

“Yes. I overheard you guys that day you were playing chess and went to the lake.” She admitted with a smile. “Figured since it was close to the time of her birthday we’d stop by early.” 

“This will be good for all of you. What do you have planned?” Bucky grinned at Natasha as he wrapped his arm around her waist to hug her close.

“Sit down dinner, some music, and presents. Already purchased for her and labelled from everyone. Steve you got her a new motorcycle helmet, and Bucky, you got her a new leather jacket.” Natasha said with a small laugh. The pair nodded and walked with her to get a drink. 

* * *

When Lisa woke up from her nap, in an actual bed in the room where she had been escorted to after the dampeners were off, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Next to her bed was a chair and on the chair was a wrapped present. She shifted to the edge, and pulled it onto the bed with her. There was a small card attached and she opened it with curiosity. 

_ Lisa, _

_ Happy birthday! In the wrapping is something for you to wear tonight. We haven’t forgotten about your birthday and we are looking forward to celebrating it with you. The dress should fit, so should the shoes.  _

_ Love, _

_ Natasha  _

Lisa laughed softly and set the card aside before she pulled the wrappings off and pulled out a deep green dress that would show off her shoulders and swing nicely around her legs. She found the shoes that matched before she got up to go and shower. She took her time getting changed before she slipped her heels on and walked towards the room that she was led to. 

Once she reached it, she had to pause. She was a little nervous. After what happened the night before, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to face Steve, but she had to act like nothing was wrong. It was the only way to maintain team cohesiveness. She pushed open the door and stopped as everyone turned to face her with a glass raised. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” 

Lisa’s eyes started to water before Wanda was next to her, giving her a hug. “Don’t cry, please.” 

“No, I’m happy. I wasn’t expecting anyone to know.” She looked at everyone assembled and smiled widely. “Thank you, everyone.” 

Lisa stayed away from Steve for the majority of the event, spending time with Sam, Natasha, T’Challa, Shuri and others that had been invited. Steve tried not to let it affect him, but he felt a little lost without being able to give her affection. Especially on her birthday. If they had been at the safe house, he had been planning to make dinner for everyone… so that she would feel appreciated. That paled in comparison to what Natasha had planned out for her. He stuck next to Bucky, since that was the best for everyone. And he watched her laugh and talk, and be happy as if she hadn’t just turned his world upside down last night. But he was happy for her. He really was. 

There was a small part of him that ached to have her laugh with him, to turn that smile his way again. But it wouldn’t, not for a while.

Natasha got everyone settled in to eat, with laughter and chatter echoing around the room. Everyone was dressed to the nines, as if they were at one of the infamous Stark parties, and it was good to enjoy a break. A way to just relax and just for a while forget everything. 

Once dinner was over, Lisa was made to sit at the head of the table, as presents were brought for her, by the people who were giving them to her. Sam’s gift was a new handgun, Wanda’s a book she had been meaning to get a hold of, and as she opened Natasha’s it was a new set of knives. Bucky came up, holding out his wrapped gift to her, and she smiled as she took it from him. Opening it, she gave a small crow of delight. Pulling out the soft leather jacket, she pulled it on to try it for the fit, enjoying how it hugged her form, and fit perfectly. Even in her dress, it was the perfect fit. She grinned as she threw her arms around him and he spun her around. “Thanks Bucky! It’s perfect.” 

He set her down and smiled at her. “Your welcome Lisa.” 

Steve stepped up since he was next, and held his wrapped gift out to her. She smiled at him, and if he didn’t know her better, he could have missed the tightness around her eyes like she was resisting saying something. How many times had he seen this expression before and hadn’t said anything? Hadn’t noticed how she felt? “For you Lisa.” She took it from him and set it down before she shrugged out of the jacket and set it aside. She opened Steve’s gift and pulled out the helmet. 

She smiled at him widely. “Thank you Steve.” 

“Your welcome!” He said as he smiled back at her before he stepped back and moved with Bucky back to their seats. T’Challa was next but his was a simple key. Lisa looked up at him and tilted her head. 

“What is this for?”

“Your own motorcycle. I’ve arranged for you to be able to tour around tomorrow on it if you would like.” He smiled at her and Lisa nodded vigorously.

“Yes please!” She took the keys from him and put them in the pocket of her jacket. She was presented with a few other things, and then it was getting set up for the dancing. 

Lisa packed all her gifts back up before she glanced over at Steve and Bucky. She stepped forward towards them, a glass in hand as she approached. She sat down with them, all smiles. “Thank you for the gifts guys. Tomorrow, when I head out for the ride, did you want to come with me?” 

Steve smiled back at her. “I’d love to.” 

Bucky nodded as well, agreeing to the ride as well. “I’ll ride with Steve, and it will be a good time.” 

She held her glass up to them, and they clinked with her. She sipped her drink before she sat back in the chair. “I’m sorry I’ve taken so long to come over… I’m sure he told you what I told him last night?” She looked at Bucky, her smile gone, and looking a little more sad. 

“Yeah the punk told me. He needed some guidance from his best friend.” Bucky said as he reached his hand out to lightly pat Steve’s upper arm. 

“And what was your guidance?” She asked. Steve looked over at Bucky, a small flush to his cheeks. 

“We didn’t get that far. So be patient. My only advice to both of you is time.” He said with a small smile. “Don’t stop being close to each other. You’ll do more damage than good.”


	18. Peggy and Bike Rides

Steve and Lisa took Bucky’s advice. They kept right on like nothing had changed, at least in front of everyone else. When they were alone, which happened more than either of them cared to admit, it was awkward. There would be no way for them to ignore what happened. So when they were alone while they were in Wakanda, her and Steve took to riding their bikes. 

And while they were riding, they talked. Today’s topic was Peggy. 

They rode next to each other, their helmets connected. 

“Tell me about her Steve.” Lisa’s voice crackled, but some of it was just the connection between their helmets. 

“She… She was amazing. Kind, but tough. Fair but hard when she needed to be. She was amazing. Really, besides my mother, she was the first woman who ever believed in me. Being skinny with all my medical issues back then was nearly a death sentence for any kind of support back then. And of course with my propensity to getting into fights… I had to rely on Buck a lot.” 

They turned down another road before he continued. “You know she shot at me once. Was mad at me after I made a severe mistake. Got approached by the woman working the desk, wound up in a… compromising position.” 

“She caught you making out with another woman?”

Steve chuckled and gave a small huff. “Yeah. She caught me. We weren’t really together at the time, thought she was together with Howard. But I still felt bad about it.” 

“Wait, Howard as in Tony’s dad Howard?!” 

“Yup.” 

Lisa laughed as she kicked up the speed on the straight away. Steve kept pace with her, and then laughed with her as he continued. 

“The first time I introduced her to Bucky, she only had eyes for me. Bucky thought it was weird, his exact words were ‘I’ve turned into you.’ At the time, I didn’t even think about it. We were about to go break the lines during World War II.” 

They rode in silence for a bit. Both of them ached, Steve for a love he didn’t get to see to completion, and Lisa for the love she held for him. It didn’t hurt her to hear about Peggy, it was nice. This was his first love. 

“We got very close to each other during that time… I had her picture in my compass.” His voice was soft, and she almost missed it over the roar of her motorcycle. “And then during my last mission, I had loaded warheads that I had to put in the water. The conversation between us was… sweet. I wish I could have actually gone for that dance with her. Played something slow, had her teach me how to dance.” Lisa turned into a small park area and turned her motorcycle off after she parked. 

Steve pulled in beside her and they took their helmets off together. She turned hers to the side and turned on some music. It wasn’t super loud, but they could both hear it. 

“When I went to go see her after being thawed… She didn’t recognize me at first… And then it was just the cycle of her remembering and forgetting me. It was heartbreaking, but I held it together just for her.” Steve leaned against his bike before he glanced at her helmet. “What’s that for?” 

“Well it’s your call, and I’m not Peggy, but I could teach you. If you wanted.” She smiled at him before she shrugged out of her leather jacket. Once the breeze stopped blowing over them, she was warm. 

Steve smiled a little bit and considered. “No… Not today. Maybe soon.” He said, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Okay Steve, it’s your call.” Lisa smiled, her hands gripped on the edge of her bike. “What else do you want to talk about?” She left the music playing, it was nice to have. He reached into the bag on his bike and pulled out a drink that he tossed to her and then pulled out one for himself. 

“I don’t know. It feels nice to talk about this. Talk about her.” 

“She sounded amazing. Almost wish I could have met her, but hearing about her from you… It feels like I know her.” Lisa sipped on her drink before she leaned back against the motorcycle. 

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped. He was hit by the sudden realization of what Bucky has said. In the process of showing Lisa his best self, she had shown him hers. Steve smiled at her, drinking from his water instead of speaking. “We should head back. Mind if we just listen to music on the way back?”

Lisa shook her head. “Not at all. Let me finish this water and then I’ll suit back up and we’ll go.” They chatted over idle things while they drank their waters, before they were suited back up and riding out together. 

The ride back felt longer than the ride out, but perhaps that was just because of everything on his mind. 

He had been so focused on other things, on looking for Peggy, looking after her, that he hadn’t let himself look for someone else, someone that complimented him in a different way then Peggy had. Someone who supported him despite everything he felt like he failed in, who didn’t hide things from him because she didn’t want to hurt him. 

Instead that woman had arrived in front of him like a breath of fresh air. Someone who started out as nothing more than a friend he could confide in, and someone he cherished greatly. 

_ You showed her the best side of you, of course she fell in love with you. _

Bucky’s words haunted him. Had he led Lisa on, thinking that this was going to go somewhere? Was he even allowed to feel like this for someone? 

_ The right girl would never ask you to forget about Peggy. _

Those were Lisa’s words, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about them. If he were to move on with someone, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hold that memory of Peggy while he was with someone else. 

But maybe she was right. It wasn’t like he was going to be able to ever forget Peggy. He remembered each look she had ever given him, and some days he cursed his photographic memory. It was handy in the field, but now, when he wished time would dull some of the memories, he was left with the vividness of it all. But perhaps he could put it to good use. Figure this out with Lisa… And figure out if he was going to break her heart or do the scarier option and take the chance with her.


	19. Undercover

For the rest of their stay in Wakanda, Lisa and Steve found reasons to not be alone with each other. It was easier to ignore what was transpiring between them when there were others to distract them from each other, and it was better for both. Lisa started to spend more time with Bucky, learning more about the super soldier turned assassin, since if she was going to be part of this team, she didn’t want there to be any awkwardness between any of them. Bucky told her stories even Steve hadn’t mentioned. Like one particular time that Steve had charged a tank during World War II without his helmet on. Or the numerous times that he had thrown motorcycles at Nazi troops. Lisa enjoyed those times, and those stories since she and Bucky would sit out in the sun, and just talk. 

When they were due to leave, Lisa packed her bags and loaded her bike onto the quinjet. She was polite with T’Challa, giving him the respect his rank required before she was hugged by Shuri. She hugged her back tight and leaned back. 

“I can’t thank you enough for getting those off.” Lisa smiled at the other woman who waved it off.

“You gave me a challenge, which I like, and of course gave me a reason to party. Enjoy the gifts.” Shuri hugged her again and patted her back. “Things will work out, I know they will.” The princess gave her a conspirator’s wink before stepping back. Lisa was confused before her face flushed and she had to look away. She cleared her throat and nodded. 

“Of course it will. It always does.” She grinned at the other woman before the rest gave their goodbyes. Lisa hugged Bucky who held her close. 

“Be patient with him, and try to keep him out of trouble.” 

“Bucky did you ask me to do the impossible?”

Bucky paused before laughing, his head thrown back, and Lisa joined in with softer laughter. “I suppose I did. If I couldn’t do it, who am I to expect you to?”

“I’ll do my best anyway. We work pretty well together, so maybe I’ll succeed.” she teased before she stepped back. Steve came up next to them and hugged Bucky as well.

“Sharing secrets about me again Buck?”

“Of course. Like how you wore newspapers in your shoes. And how you ran up the Allies vehicle budget 50 times what it was quoted with your absolute disregard for the motorcycles you were given.” He grinned at the other man and patted his upper arm. 

Lisa gave a small giggle before she stepped back. “See you on the jet Steve.” He nodded to her, before he and Bucky were left alone. 

“You still thinking on it?” Bucky asked as he put his hand in his pocket. 

“Yeah, almost every day.” Steve crossed his arms and sighed. “I just don’t know.” 

“You’re not doing that dumb thing where you compare them are you?”

“Hard not to. Not like I have a lot of experiences to draw from here Buck.” 

Bucky opened his mouth to say something before he conceded the point and nodded. “Okay, fair enough. But figure it out. You need to talk, call.” 

“You got it.” Steve grinned at the other soldier and hugged him again. “See you later Buck. Try not to do anything stupid while I’m gone.” 

“Kinda hard, you’re taking all the stupid with you.” Bucky grinned as Steve stepped back and grabbed his bag to head for the quinjet. There was a small kernel of jealousy that Steve had squashed immediately as soon as he had identified what it was from, but it wasn’t completely gone. 

The group waved them off as the quinjet took off and everyone settled in for the journey back. Despite the poor month behind them, they were feeling better after the short break. 

Once they were back in the house, Wanda informed them that her and Vision were going to live off the grid together. They wanted to have a normal life, just the two of them. It took a week to find Wanda and Vision a place, but they were able to get her set up and with their best wishes. The woman hadn’t been extremely happy with them for the last six months and it was mostly just because it was a lot of stress. The break had just solidified her decision to take a chance at a normal life. 

After they got Wanda settled, it was right back into the action, and helping T’Challa and his agents track down Klaue. He had been giving them all the slip, and with more people on the search, the faster he would be found. 

Steve and Lisa’s late night talks stopped, and they focused on the mission only. Sam and Natasha were starting to notice, but didn’t comment. If it became a problem, they would both step in. But for now, it wasn’t a problem. 

They were able to find a lead and followed up on it. Natasha and Lisa went undercover to the location, a party that they had to fake credentials to get into, along with their two bodyguards. They were dressed fancy to match the dress code, and laughed and talked their way through the crowd to their target. 

“Give me my distraction you two.” Natasha’s voice was soft in their ears as she got close to their target. Sam and Lisa pulled off from the other two. They moved off to the other side of the room, laughing with each other, before Sam stopped someone from getting too close to her. 

Lisa whirled away from him, raising her voice about overprotective bodyguards who don’t know how to do their jobs. Everyone’s eyes were immediately on her and Sam, and Steve waited a moment, seeing Natasha escorting their target into the room they had planned on before he moved over to deal with the next phase of the plan. 

“Hey Leeroy, what are you doing man? We’ve been over this. You can’t touch the girls.” He said as he stepped up next to Sam, who had his arms crossed with Lisa glaring at him. 

“Buddy fresh over here was stepping too close! You heard her father, we’re supposed to protect her, and her sister! Speaking of which, where is your charge!?” He looked over at Steve who glanced around, as if he had lost her.

“I saw her go into a room. How about you go after her, maybe you can keep your hands to yourself this time.” Sam rolled his eyes, playing his part as he stomped off. Lisa huffed and turned to the man who had stepped up to talk to her, and smiled wide at him. For the next fifteen minutes, she flirted with this man, feeding him her cover story, and the lies, before she was whirled out onto the dance floor and danced around. 

Steve leaned against the wall, keeping an eye on her, like their cover required, listening to Natasha and Sam question their target, and giving quiet updates on Lisa’s performance and that she was keeping everyone’s attention with her laughter that was just a little too loud, and too hearty. Everyone would recall seeing her, and only her, as well as her two bodyguards. Lisa hummed as the man dipped her low. Her smiles were all for him, and when Natasha and Sam arrived back out to the party, Sam made a show of apologizing to Lisa, who accepted it and then moved back onto the dance floor, this time with Sam, as a way to accept his apology. 

Lisa moved with Sam like they were practiced dance partners, and made a show of being still mildly displeased with him, but didn’t want to cause more of a scene. 

Once they were sure there was no longer suspicion on them, they left with their information. Fifteen minutes after they were clear of the building, T’Challa’s operative swooped in and picked up the informant that they had left behind. 

Lisa was on flying detail for the quinjet and she settled in to get them out of there. She went through all the preflight checks quickly before she got them in the air. Steve sat down, legs crossed at the ankles as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. This had become standard operating procedure for him, to review the mission and make sure that they hadn’t missed anything. 

But this was the first mission where he saw everything clear and had focused on what Lisa did. He counted how many times she had glanced at him before looking away. He remembered how she had looked laughing and smiling at other people and how it had left him feeling like he wanted her to only look at him that way. Which was unrealistic, and stupid, and he knew it. Didn’t stop him from feeling that way though. His hands laced together over his stomach as he thought about what that all meant for him. For her. For the team. And what would be best for all of them.


	20. The Set Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small set up for a revelation

Steve waited until Natasha, Sam and Lisa were out of the house on another lead he didn’t need to be there for before he set up in the small dining room they had been using for an ops room. He contacted Bucky before he sat back in his chair as he waited for the man to connect. Steve shifted the chair back a little bit and put his feet up on the table. 

“Hey Steve, everything okay?” Bucky asked as he connected to the call. It was like Bucky was sitting near him, and Steve nodded. 

“Yeah everything’s good. Just need your help with something. Didn’t get to do it right last time, so I want to do it right this time.” 

Bucky didn’t even have to ask what Steve was talking about. He already knew. “You got it figured out?”

“Yes.” 

Bucky grinned at him, and settled in to listen. “Good. Tell me what you need me to do.” 

* * *

When Lisa, Natasha and Sam got back, Steve wasn’t there. His bike was gone, and there was no note from him. They didn’t think too much about it to start as they all got changed out of mission clothes. Lisa was showering when she heard her phone going off. Cursing softly, she got out of the shower, slipping on her bathroom floor, catching herself against the counter before running over to the phone and answering it without looking at the caller. “Hello?”

“Hey. It’s Bucky.” 

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief before she moved back towards the bathroom. “Hang on Bucky, you caught me in the shower, let me turn it off.” She said as she put him on speaker and turned the water off. “Okay, what’s the problem?”

“I’m in town, was hoping you’d show me around.” 

Lisa stopped, towel against her body. “What are you doing in town?” 

“Wanted to see you guys. I know Natasha’s a chameleon, she can get in and out of anywhere she needs to. Steve agreed it would be good practice for you to show me around town while we’re both incognito.” Bucky didn’t even miss a beat on her question. 

“Uhh… Sure I can do that. You’re sure Steve said it was okay?” She asked as she wrapped her towel around her chest and grabbed the phone to walk out of the bathroom and finish getting changed. 

“Yeah. I can have him text you if you want?” 

“No, I believe you. Where do you wanna meet up then Bucky, and what should I be dressed in?” 

Bucky gave a small chuckle before he told her their cover. She looked through her closet for something that would fit, finding a few dresses that would work. As she got dressed, she talked to Bucky, getting their cover down like a memory she could pull from later. 

“Okay Bucky, I’m ready. I’ll see you in… forty five minutes?” She said as she pulled her boots on. 

“See you soon Lisa.” He hung up the phone and Lisa was on her way out the door. 

She was in the garage when Natasha caught up to her. “Where are you headed out to?”

“Apparently another round of training. Not sure if Steve thought my acting during our covert ops could have used work or he’s just using this as an excuse to see Bucky again, but Bucky’s back in town, and wants me to show him around. We’re going to pose as tourists.” Lisa replied.

Natasha looked confused a little bit but shrugged. “Probably won’t do you any harm anyway. Let us know how it goes.” She waved the other woman off before Lisa was on her bike and headed into town. Lisa hummed to herself as she drove, and pulled up outside a small residence. This wasn’t what she was expecting, but perhaps it was one of the king’s houses. She pulled up into the driveway, pulling her helmet off and climbing off her bike, after she had the kick stand down and the bike off. As soon as she stepped off the bike, she hit a button on the keys that made it invisible with the reflector technology they used on the quinjet. 

Striding up to the door, she rapped on it, a bag slung over her shoulder with another pair of shoes so that she wouldn’t be tromping around in her motorcycle boots. Bucky opened the door and grinned at her. “Hey doll. Ready to go?” 

“Yup.” She smiled as she stepped in and sat down to take her boots off. Once she had her leathers off, she was dressed in a dark blue dress, slightly off the shoulders and flared from the hips to fall around her knees, long sleeves that were caught around her middle finger. 

“You’re looking a little underdressed there Bucky.” She mentioned with a grin as she slipped on the matching heels to her dress. 

“Sorry for the deception. You’re not here for me.” He gestured deeper into the house. “Second door on your right. That’s the dining room. Might wanna get a move on.” 

Lisa’s smile slipped from her face as she looked confused by what he meant. She stood up, gave him a sharp look that promised retribution if he didn’t explain what was going on, she strode down the hallway, heels clicking against the hardwood floor, pushing the door open.


	21. His Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song - Goodnight Moon by Go Radio
> 
> https://youtu.be/W65FVnJaVoU?list=RDMMW65FVnJaVoU

Whatever Lisa expected when she opened the door, it wasn’t this. It wasn’t Steve, dressed in a suit, with dinner spread out on the table, and just finishing pouring two glasses of wine. She stopped dead in her tracks, wondering how he had known she would wear blue tonight, and why his suit complimented her dress so well. Turning around, Bucky was blocking the way out with a smile on his face. 

“You’re gonna wanna listen to him. Trust me.” He gently pushed her back into the room before he shut the door behind her. Lisa took a deep breath before she slowly exhaled it and turned to face Steve. 

“Hi.” She forced a smile on her face as she rubbed her palms against her dress.

“Hey.” 

“What’s all this for?” She stepped forward, no longer feeling very confident. 

“For you. And me. To have dinner.” He pulled out the chair meant for her, and stood next to it. Her steps were slow until she was standing in front of the chair and let him push it in behind her. Once she was settled and comfortable, she looked at him as he sat down, undoing the button on his suit jacket. 

“Don’t play with me here Steve. Please don’t give me false hope for something that won’t happen.” She whispered. 

Steve glanced down at his plate before he shifted his chair to face her a little more and he leaned forward on the table. “I had a whole speech prepared for after dinner…”

“Steve, if I have to wait to hear that you’re not going to return my affections, it’s going to ruin dinner. We haven’t been alone together for almost… three weeks now.” She folded her hands in her lap, watching him. “Speech now, and then we can figure out if I’m even going to be able to eat after that.” 

He smiled at her and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. Bear with me okay? Let me finish before you say anything.” 

“Sure Steve. Whatever you want.” 

He got back to his feet, and put a little music on low, just something to fill the space a bit. “Alright. So I will admit that I was surprised when you told me you loved me. I hadn’t seen any of the signs leading up to it. It just didn’t make sense to me that you would want to fall in love with me. And then I realized that even though I’ve been fighting Hydra for years, and have been this…” He paused to gesture at himself. “For years, I was still thinking like I was that skinny kid in Brooklyn who was always overlooked for Bucky. You know… the doctor that made me the way I am… He said something that stuck with me. ‘Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion.’ And even though I’m not a weak man anymore, I still sometimes see myself that way.” Steve moved to take his glass up and sip the wine. She mirrored the movement, listening to him talk, trying to control how hard her heart was pounding as she waited for what she believed was going to end up being a rejection. 

“When I was unfrozen from the ice, and met Peggy as she was then… It was hard. But I think that even during that time… I was preparing myself to lose her. For her to leave before I did. Even though it didn’t feel right, a part of me looked. I didn’t find what I was looking for, not at first.” Steve paced a little bit more before he spoke again. 

“And then there was you. Just an unfortunate person in an unfortunate situation. But you didn’t run away from things. You didn’t shy away from your guilt. You just did what you thought was right, what you knew was the right thing to do. You have stuck by my side through the last three years, supporting me. You’ve seen me at my lowest, and all you did was wait for me to pick myself up, and helped me put myself back together.” He sat back down, and watched her. 

“I showed you the best of myself. But you showed me the best of yourself as well. And without realizing it, I was ignoring my feelings, trying to say that they were merely for us to be friends. But they weren’t. Not for you, and certainly not for me.” 

Lisa drank deep from her glass, and then looked at him with trepidation. This was it. This was where he was going to tell her that he wasn’t in love with her, and it was going to break her heart. 

Her blood was pounding so hard in her ears, she actually missed what he said. Her eyes blinked rapidly for a moment before she focused back on him. He was looking at her expectantly. 

“I’m sorry Steve… I didn’t hear that last sentence… Could you repeat it?” She asked softly. 

“Of course. What I said was that I love you.” She had to set her glass down before she spilled the wine. 

“Steve I swear to god if you’re doing this as a joke…” She swallowed hard before she pushed her chair back. 

“It’s not a joke. I wouldn’t joke about something like this.” He reached his hand out to her, and she was out of her chair immediately, had her hand in his and wrapped her arm around his neck. He shifted her so that she didn’t slip off his lap before he had a sobbing woman held against him. “Lisa?” He asked, a little confused.

“I’m sorry, I’m just… Steve I thought you were going to tell me you couldn’t love me back. I’m so fucking relieved.” She said as she sobbed a little harder. She leaned back and looked at him. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from her face. 

“I’m sorry I put you through all that for the last month.” He said softly. She shook her head before she cupped his face between her hands, and leaned forward, kissing him softly. His arms wrapped around her waist, and kissed her back, holding her tight against him. He kissed her back, giving a hum of approval. She pulled back and laughed against his lips, giddy in her knowledge of what he had told her. 

“You love me?” Lisa whispered against his lips. 

“Yes, I love you.” 

“I love you too. So much.” Lisa laughed softly as she leaned her forehead against his. “A whole month of concern… This was so worth it.” She leaned forward and kissed him again, before she got to her feet and moved back to the seat that she had had before. 

As they ate, they found excuses to touch each other, a subtle touch to the back of each other’s hand. The food was cold, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying it. Lisa only had eyes for him, and she was full of smiles. The smiles that he had missed for the last month since she had told him, and they were all for him, and he was the reason for them. And that filled a void he didn’t realize he had. He glanced up at the door to the kitchen, seeing Bucky giving him a quick salute before he disappeared. 

Steve knew he was going to go see Natasha and Sam, and that there was no way that they were going to keep this a secret for long. But for tonight, it was just going to be him and Lisa. Desert was ice cream with fresh berries, before he glanced over at her with a small smile. 

“Is that offer to teach me to dance still open?” He asked as he held his hand out to her.

“Yes, absolutely.” She got to her feet, and moved over to where he had the music playing. She searched around for the song she wanted, and set it to play after a short delay. Her heels clicked as she walked over to him, put one of his hands on her hip and held onto his other. “It’s very simple, and slow. We’re just going to sway a little bit, and when you feel like you want to move us, you’ll pull me after you, or step forward into my space. I will follow your lead.” She tilted her head back, smiling up at him. 

“Sounds simple enough.” He smiled at her, before the music started. 

He swayed them in place for a moment before he stepped back, pulling her with him. She didn’t miss a beat, shifting with him as the lyrics filtered over them. 

_ And don't go to bed yet, love, I think it's too early And we just need a little time to ourselves And don't go to bed yet, love, I think it's too early, And we just need a little time to ourselves. If my wall clock tells me that it's four In the morning, I'll give it hell.  _ _ 'Cause I've been trying way too long, To try and be the perfect song, When our hearts are heavy burdens, We shouldn't have to bear alone. _

He stopped them from rotating around and swayed in place with her for a moment. He pulled her in close, and she rested her head against his shoulder, his cheek against her hair. 

_ So goodnight moon, And goodnight you, When you're all that I think about. All that I dream about. How'd I ever breathe without A goodnight kiss From goodnight you, The kind of hope they all talk about. The kind of feeling we sing about. Sit in our bedroom and read aloud, Like a passage from goodnight moon And sing for me softly, love, Your song for tomorrow And tell me my name's the one sitting in there somewhere. _

She sighed happily as he moved his arm around her waist and pulled her up to spin her in a circle for a moment before letting her feet touch the floor. She heard the soft whispered “I love you.” as if he were testing it out on his lips again. She replied with the same phrase, as they rotated around. 

_ And dream for me anything, but dream It in color about We know the sun's still rising but we don't care 'Cause I've been trying way too long, To try and be the perfect song, When our hearts are heavy burdens, We shouldn't have to bear alone. So goodnight you, And goodnight moon, When you're all that I think about. All that I dream about. How'd I ever breathe without A goodnight kiss From goodnight you, The kind of hope they all talk about. The kind of feelings we sing about. Sit in our bedrooms and read aloud, Like a passage from goodnight moon. _

They danced slowly around the room secure in each other’s arms, moving as in sync as they were on the battlefield, or in the kitchen making food. They moved to the same beat, to the same tune. As the song faded,  she leaned her head back and he leaned her down, pressing their lips together. She smiled into the kiss and let go of his hand so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders and hold on. Once the song was over, she gently patted his back. “We should get cleaned up… then what else did you have planned for tonight?” 

“I was thinking… perhaps a movie on the couch?” He said as he pulled her upright. 

“Yes, that would be perfect.” She smiled up at him, and they separated to get the place set back to rights. He had taken his jacket off to clean up, and after he grabbed it, gently pulled her after him, until they were in the living room. He sat down on the couch, tossing his jacket onto the recliner, before he tugged her down next to him. Her legs immediately went over his lap and he helped her arrange her skirts so that she was comfortable before she snuggled in with her head on his shoulder again. 

He turned on the movie, not that they paid much attention to it.


	22. Their First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW chapter. It's written like a dime store erotic novel, but that's on purpose because it felt right.

It was warm, pressed against Steve like this. She smiled to herself and kept her hand on his chest as she watched the start of the movie. It was a comedy, something light and funny to help reduce the stress they had both been under. She had seen it before, but he had suggested it and she wasn’t going to say no to it. It was starting out with a pair of highschoolers having a bad day, one being told he wasn’t going to prom and the other being rejected by the girl he wanted to go with. Then it skipped forward a few years of them both in the police academy. 

His arm was around her shoulders, her legs over his, and his other hand on her thigh. She could feel every shift, every muscle jumping and twitching as if he were hyper aware of her sitting like this with him. Which he probably was. She leaned her head back a little more, and felt his fingers gently trail over her shoulder and up her neck. It caused her to shiver and smile. His hand on her thigh shifted the fabric of her dress back and forth gently against her skin. 

She drew idle things with her fingers against his chest, and she leaned up for a moment to press her lips against his neck. Lisa settled back into her position, but it didn’t last long before the hand that was near her jaw gently tipped it back up to turn her face to his. He pressed his lips to hers, and her hands gripped his shirt, before she shifted so that she was straddling his lap instead of sitting across it. She kissed him back, hands slowly moving up his chest to his hair, holding onto him. 

He leaned his head back as they kissed, and moved both of his hands to her hips. She pressed herself close to him, and he hugged her tight. She pulled back from the kiss, and for a moment, just rested her forehead against his. “This isn’t a dream right Steve? I’m not going to wake up alone in my bed in the next fifteen minutes…” She whispered. 

“No, this is real. Let me prove it to you.” He said before his hand trailed back down to her thigh and pinched her. She yelped before laughing and sinking back down into his arms. 

“Good. Kiss me again please.” She soon had his lips on hers again. His facial hair was a different feeling against her face, and she hummed as one hand moved to cup his face and scratch through his beard. His mouth opened under hers, and hers matched him, their tongues exploring soft and slow of each other. Tonight would be a lot of soft and slow, and figuring each other out in a light they hadn’t really considered before. 

One of his hands moved up her back, before it tangled in her hair and he pulled her flush against his chest. When they both surfaced for air, it was clear that neither of them wanted to watch the movie anymore, and that they were more focused on each other. He was half hard in his slacks, and she had warmth pooling between her legs. “This sort of defeated the purpose of the movie…” Steve chuckled against her lips. 

“You haven’t gotten to the definition of netflix and chill have you?” She teased softly with a laugh.

“Apparently not.” He reached out and turned the movie off before he picked her up in his arms, and moved for the stairs to the second level and where the bedroom was. He set her down outside of the room. “Wait here, just for a minute?” He asked. 

“Sure Steve, but don’t take too long.” She smiled up at him, and leaned back against the wall while he stepped into the bedroom. She gave a small giggle to herself, lightly touching her lips. Lisa reached into the pocket of her dress, checking her phone quickly and seeing the short message from Bucky, apologizing again for the deception and letting her know that he had taken her bike back to the safe house but had left her gear there for her to ride back with Steve. 

She quickly typed out a message back to him, saying she understood, and that this was quickly becoming the best day of her life, and let him know she was turning her phone off. Then she turned it off as Steve came back to the door and held his hand out to her. “Okay, I’m ready.” She looked at him, unsure what he had done since he still looked the same, and put her hand in his, letting him lead her in. The lights were off, but the room was dimly lit by the aromatic candles all around the room. There was a rose on the pillow and she looked up at him.

“How long have you been planning this?”

Steve smiled down at her and pulled her close to him again. “That week you, Nat and Sam were out of the house.” 

“You’re a little shit you know that right?”

“The only little thing I see here is you dear.” He teased as he bent his knees a bit to pick her up in his arms.

“You know showing off feels like cheating here…”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Never.” She whispered before she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again. He swayed a little bit with her in his arms, kissing her back. He slowly let her slide down his arms, keeping her close as he did so. His hands bunched up her dress and danced her back to the bed. She reached back, pulled the rose off the bed, and set it on the side table. The back of her knees hit the bed, and she gripped onto his shirt so that she didn’t fall back. She gave a small chuckle, before he turned them around and sat down to watch her. 

Lisa stepped back from him, and toed her shoes off before she turned her back to him. “Help me out?” She asked with a smile over her shoulder at him.

“Of course.” He pulled her back against him, and reached up, easing the zipper down her back, until it was loose against her and he could see black underwear. She stepped away from him once it was loose, and she let it drop around her ankles. She gathered it all up into her hands and set it to the side, before she turned to him, seeing him take his shirt off, and reaching down to his belt buckle. Her feet were quiet as she moved back over to him. She was dressed in a lace bra, and had on a pair of spanx. He reached up, his hands bracketing her hips and pressed his thumbs against the bone. She hummed a little bit as she moved to straddle him again. 

“You’re not mad about the deception I pulled are you?” He asked, looking up at her. 

“No, of course not. It led to us… so I’ll be a little annoyed, but not upset.” She leaned down and kissed him, his hands sliding up her body to her waist and higher still until his hands were underneath her breasts and cupped them. 

“Christ you’re beautiful… I haven’t told you that enough.” He whispered against her lips before he laid back and pulled her with him, one of his hands shifting down to her ass. 

“I don’t think you told me that ever.” she teased as she leaned back a little bit.

“An oversight I will be correcting as often as I can.” Their lips met again and she felt him roll them over so that she was leaning back against the sheets. She turned her head to watch him, as he pulled back to sit on the edge of the bed before his shoes were off along with his socks and pants. He moved back over to her and over top of her. He braced himself on his forearms as he leaned down to kiss her again. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of kissing her. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and fingers threaded into his hair. 

He shifted his weight as he moved his hand down her body, from her shoulder to the breast again, squeezing softly, and enjoying the sound of her soft gasp and the arch of her back to press it further into his hand. He broke the kiss before he moved down to bury his face against her neck. Her soft moan was breathy and held an edge of need to it. 

Steve didn’t stop touching her, running his hands over her body, feeling her do the same for him. It was soft, gentle. Just like they had been thus far to each other. She was needy in her desire for him, just as he was for her. But they took it slow, exploring each other as they wanted. He found the spots on her that made her want to scream, and she found places on his skin that made him moan. 

When they finally joined together, it was beautiful, and filled them with both with a sense of being complete. He was thick, but not enough to hurt her, and she was responsive right back to him. They were in sync now as much as they were on the battlefield. She shifted and he followed her. His hands pinned hers to the bed, and her legs were wrapped around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust. Her back arched as she came, his mouth swallowing her cries of passion. He wasn’t far behind her, both panting as their naked forms cooled in the air. He pulled them over, and rested on his back, with her head on his shoulder and nestled against his side. Her eyes closed and she panted softly as she felt his fingers run softly over her shoulder and upper arm. 

She laid her hand on his chest, running her fingers over his skin with a contented hum. “I love you Steve…”

“I love you too Lisa.”


	23. Gotta Tell The Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're approaching Infinity War. Soon. :D

When dawn broke, Steve was the first one awake, his front pressed to her back and his arms wrapped around her. It felt so good, and one of his hands laced together with hers. He didn’t want to move, wanted to let her sleep, but they should head out for the day and get back to the team. They had a stolen moment, but it wasn’t going to last. They still had work to do, people to save. But they’d at least have each other. He shifted so that his nose was pressed into her hair, and just let himself doze. It was a couple hours of that when she woke up, stretching as she did so. 

Lisa turned over and looked back at him. “Morning handsome…”

“Good morning beautiful.” She smiled up at him and found her lips covered by his, soft and slow. “I don’t want you to feel rushed but we should get back.” He said softly against her lips. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Join me in the shower then?” She asked as she untangled herself from the embrace and stood up, with his eyes following her. She smiled and glanced back over her shoulder, before she sauntered into the bathroom and Steve was a step behind her. She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, hands running over her thighs, nose against her neck. 

She giggled softly before she got the shower started. Once they were inside, Steve pressed her up against the tiles, and kissed her again. She kissed him back, the water cascading over them both. She moaned softly as she felt his hands against her skin. 

“Do we have time for this?” she asked as she leaned her head back and looked up at him. 

“If we’re quick?” He looked at her with a questioning look as if he was asking for her permission. 

She bit her lip, and considered it before glancing up at him with a wide smile. “Then you better get to it Steve.” His mouth covered hers as he lifted her up, and kissed her again. Steve pinned her against the wall, and they spent more time being together in the shower then they did getting changed and cleaned up. The water was cold by the time they were cleaned off, and she was toweling her hair off as she walked back out to get back into her underwear and bra, along with the spanx she wore with her dress. The towel was around her neck and she turned to grab the dress when a pair of pants and a shirt was thrown her way. They were her clothes, and glanced over at Steve who was pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt. 

“You were really prepared for this weren’t you?” she asked with a grin. 

“Never hurts to be prepared.” He replied with a matching grin. 

“You ready for what Nat’s gonna say?”

“Not in this lifetime. You?”

Lisa hummed a little bit before she pulled her jeans and shirt on. “Fuck no. At least we’re facing the music together.” She pulled on a pair of socks and grabbed the dress and heels to go back in her travel bag. “Bucky’s got my bike back at the safe house. Means I’m riding with you.” She turned back to the bed and stripped the sheets off of it, to shove into her bag as well. No reason to leave more evidence of their time here then needed. He got the towels hanging up before he moved with her down the stairs and towards their motorcycle gear. 

Once they were both suited up, and helmets on, she climbed onto the back of his bike and they rode out, Steve putting one hand back to her thigh, just to hold on a little bit. 

“You know we should practice you using your powers on the bike. Could give us an edge.”

“Not a bad idea, but not today. I’d want us in our stealth gear in case something goes wrong. After all, Kevlar’s better for us if we put the bike down instead of the leathers.” She replied, seeing him nod.

“That sounds like a good plan.” She presses forward a little more, keeping a good hold around his waist as he drove them. 

They arrived back into the safehouse and hung their leathers up on the hooks next to their bikes before they grabbed their bags and walked into the house. She glanced up at him, and he smiled down at her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I love you.” 

“I love you too Steve. Alright, time to face the music.” She grinned as she put her hand up and laced her fingers with his. They dropped off the bags outside his door before they walked into the living room, seeing Natasha and Sam sitting there with Bucky, eating breakfast in front of the television, which was detailing something that the Avengers had done to help the world.

Bucky glanced up at them, and smirked as he settled deeper into the chair he was sitting in. He cleared his throat, which caused Natasha and Sam to glance at him. Bucky nodded his head over their shoulders, and both of them turned to look, setting their bowls down on the coffee table. 

“Where the hell have you two been!? Winter Soldier over here was pretty closed mouth about it after he showed up on Lisa’s bike last night.” Sam asked as he stood up. 

Natasha’s eyes narrowed in on Lisa’s neck, seeing a slight discolouration to her skin around the collar of the shirt she was wearing, confused for just a moment before she started to laugh. There were matching marks on Steve’s neck as well. “Oh Sam, look at them. They’re positively glowing.” She leaned against the couch, arms on the back of the couch as she watched them with a smirk on her face. 

Sam looked at them before he put his hands on his hips. “How long has this been happening?” He gestured between Steve and Lisa. Both of their faces were flushed red at Natasha’s words. 

Lisa laughed at his question, which had Steve chuckling as well. “Since last night. We promise.” Sam relaxed his posture a little bit before he shrugged. 

“Alright but this better not affect our team.” He watched them with an expression that said he didn’t want to see them go down because of this. 

“Nope. Promise. We’ve been skirting around the realization and it hasn’t affected us yet, so it won’t do it now.” Steve replied, as he and Lisa moved in to sit down on the smaller couch. 

Bucky grinned at both of them, and nodded to himself. “It’s good to see you both happy.” He kept eating as he watched them. 

Lisa glanced up at Steve and then at the others. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time.” She squeezed his hand, and he pulled her a little closer. 

“Neither have I.” 

Natasha just laughed as she turned back around and pulled Sam back down onto the couch. “Alright, I want to know how you pulled this over on me.” 

* * *

Steve spent the next little bit telling Natasha how he had managed to do this without her knowing, and then they bid Bucky a farewell as he had to go back to Wakanda to continue his recovery. Lisa told Sam of what Steve had suggested about her powers and his bike and he nodded before jerking his head towards the garage. He was talking about lowering Steve’s bike a bit so that he could still control it when she leaned over, and Lisa went with him, to give him some assistance.

While Lisa was gone off with Sam, Natasha stared at Steve who was in the dining room and working on their next set of leads on Klaue.

“How did this happen Steve?” she asked as she watched his back tense up. 

“She told me she loved me the day before her birthday. No one suspected anything as far as I can tell. Took me a month of panicking about it to myself to realize I returned her affections. We talked about it last night, she still felt the same way, and we decided to make it official.” He turned around and leaned back against the table. “Are you disapproving now, after all the other women you’ve tried to set me up with?” He put both his hands on his belt buckle, watching her. 

“No, just the opposite. I knew she liked you, I’ve known for a while. I may have nudged her a bit to get her to realize it sooner. Didn’t realize she had gotten that deep. Guess my training has rubbed off on her.” Natasha looked up at him as she leaned back against the wall. “I’m sure you saw the signs now that you’re aware of it?”

“Yeah, now. Back then… We were just friends. She opened herself up to me, and I did the same for her. You know… I didn’t think I’d ever get a second chance. And every one you pushed me to… It just didn’t feel right. Felt like I was betraying someone I didn’t even have anymore. But now… so many years later? It just… clicked. Just like Lisa said it would. I didn’t force it, didn’t try and make something happen just to have it happen. Just let it occur, and now I have her. She’ll never be my number one gal, but she doesn’t expect to be.” 

Natasha looked a little confused before she spoke up. “You do realize that sounds incredibly… cold right? Like something I would say.” 

“It’s not meant like that. Peggy will always be my number one gal. Always. Lisa isn’t looking to replace her, and neither am I. Lisa won’t be my number one gal, but she is going to be my number one. As cheesy as this is gonna sound, she’ll be the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep. It’s going to be Lisa.” He turned back to the plans, pulling a few papers over. “Your worries laid to rest?”

“For now. Alright, what do we have on Klaue?” She asked as she stepped up next to him, both of them starting to sift through information.

* * *

Sam and Lisa spent the day working in the garage blaring classic rock as they worked, laughing and joking with each other like it hadn’t just been revealed she was sleeping with his best friend. They had finished lowering Steve’s bike, and doing repairs to the equipment here before he turned the music down. 

“So you and Cap.”

“Yeah. You don’t think it’ll be a problem for us do you?” She asked as she leaned against the workbench and wiped her hands off from the grease she had been working with. 

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve seen husbands and wives work together in the field. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. How long did you know you liked him?” Sam asked as he leaned next to her, holding out a cold beer. 

“Oh jeez… Right after the first mission you guys went on without me.” She admitted after a thought of how long ago it had been.

Sam blew out a breath before he drank deep from his beer. “Christ, that’s been a long time.” 

“I mean I fully realized it around that time. It had been happening for a while. He’d talk to me when things got too much for him. Which for the record, before you say anything, should not be taken as a slight against you. He just knew that you or Natasha would try and fix him, and he just needed to vent and talk.” She held her beer out in his direction before sipping again.

“No that’s fair, he’s right. I’d have tried to fix whatever the problem was.” Sam nodded as he crossed his arms again. “So is this a hookup or are you looking at the long haul with him?”

Lisa looked at him incredulously before she laughed a little bit. “You did not just ask me if I’m just hooking up with Steve…” 

“No, I did. I still want an answer.” He chuckled as they both drank deep of their beers until they were empty.

“I’ve been following him for almost four years now Sam. It’s about as long haul as it gets.” She replied as they set the empties down on the workbench.

“That’s fair. That’s very fair. I want you to know that I’m really happy for both of you, and even though you don’t need it, since you’re both consenting adults, I approve.” He clapped his hand on her shoulder and she nodded.

“Thanks Sam. Even if I didn’t need it, it’s nice to know I have it.” She smiled at him, and put her hand on his shoulder as well. “But we are never telling Steve we had this conversation. Ever.” 

“Agreed…. Though one last question, then I’ll drop it.” 

Lisa looked at him before she moved over to the sink to wash her hands to get the last of the grease off of them. “Ask away.” 

“You’re not trying to replace Peggy are you?” 

Lisa’s hands froze under the water before she looked over her shoulder at him. “If I did, then I’d be going back on what I said to him about five months ago. That right girl wouldn’t ask him to forget about her, wouldn’t try to replace her. So I won’t. I’d be the first one to tell you that you can love more than one person in the same way. My parents both came from previous marriages where their partners passed. So I know for a fact it happens, and that there’s nothing wrong with it.” She turned her face back to what she was doing to get her hands clean. “But I can see the concern for both of us. I want you to know that you’re going to have more of a problem getting him to stop worrying about me in the field again then of me trying to replace the first woman he ever fell in love with.” Lisa grinned at Sam as she turned around to dry her hands off. “We good?”

“Oh yeah. We’re good. That’s a really mature look at it Lisa.” 

“Come on, I’ve had the better part of six months to come to terms with it well before it became an issue.” She winked at him, before she turned to go into the house.


	24. Planning Before the Invasion

Within three months, they had to move locations. They had gotten tipped off by the Wakandan intelligence that their location was compromised. It was a quick flurry of packing, making sure nothing was left and whatever they couldn’t take was destroyed. Then it was into the quinjet and running. Their operations turned more covert, and without much more assistance then what they could provide for themselves. Which meant their stealth suits were getting damaged without a good way to repair them, and even more, they had to be careful. Sleeping on the quinjet wasn’t great for all of them, so they sometimes found motels to crash in. This went on for about a year.

There were no more stolen moments like that night that they had shared dinner. Any time Steve and Lisa found time alone, their love making was hurried and fast and nowhere near as satisfying as that first time. But they maintained themselves as a healthy unit, Steve and Lisa’s relationship not making a difference to how the team operated. 

Sam and Natasha were out getting coffee, letting Lisa and Steve have a little alone time as the pair rested back on the creaky motel mattress. Lisa’s head was pillowed on his chest, and his hand was running through her hair. They hadn’t planned to do anything together, just spend time together as a couple. They hadn’t heard from Wanda in a while, but that was a given. Lisa gave a small hum, and smiled. Laying in the bed, watching terrible motel movies was a favorite of theirs when they could crash in a motel. 

Steve tensed up, and then sat up, gently removing himself from her arms. “Hang on Lisa, my phone’s going off…” He said as he went over to the phone and picked it up. 

“Hello?”

Pause.

“Bruce, it’s good to hear from you.” Steve turned to look at Lisa who immediately moved for her stealth suit and tossed him his stealth suit as well. He watched her grab her own comm unit, messaging Natasha and Sam. 

“Uh-huh. Thanos… And the mind stone? That’s the stone in Vision right? And Tony went where?” Steve asked as he put the phone between his ear and his shoulder before he started to get changed. He was halfway through getting dressed when Sam and Natasha arrived. “Sure, we’re on it. We’ll make sure they’re protected. Yeah. See you soon.” 

It took all of twenty minutes to get them all suited up and in the quinjet before they were headed for Scotland. As soon as they got there, it was easy enough to find where they needed to go. Just follow the trail of destruction. They were in the light rail station when they finally managed to catch up to Wanda and Vision. 

They were able to fight off whoever it was that was trying to catch Vision, and got him loaded up. It was a few hour journey to get back States side, and Lisa took the opportunity to talk to Wanda, and Vision, finding out what they had been up to, and catching her up on what they had been doing as the vigilantes. Lisa brought her finger to her lips for a moment before she held her hand out to Wanda who took it with curiosity. 

The moment their skin touched, she looked surprised for a moment before smiling wide. “Really?”

“Yes. But shhh. Only those in this jet know. And Bucky. He helped us.” Lisa smiled and Wanda smiled back, holding her hand out to Vision who smiled at her as well. 

“I am happy for you. It’s good to see that you’ve found happiness.” He said. Lisa reached out and patted his shoulder, before she moved up to talk with Steve about their plans when they arrived. 

When the quinjet touched down, they walked in, Sam helping Vision walk, while Lisa strode next to Wanda, with Steve and Natasha in the lead. Rhodes was in a meeting when they arrived, talking to the Secretary of Defense.

“Mr. Secretary.” Was the only words Steve said to him before the man went off on the fact that they as a team had a lot of nerve showing up now and thinking all was forgiven. 

“I’m not looking for forgiveness, and I’m way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender, so we’re here to fight. And if you stand in our way… we’ll fight you too.” Steve stepped down into the meeting area, before the Secretary demanded their arrest, and Rhodes said he would be all over it before he hung up. 

“That’s a court marshall…. It’s great to see you Cap.” Rhodes said as Natasha stepped in to give him a hug. “Well… you all look like crap.” 

“Yeah the motels weren’t exactly five star.” Sam supplied which earned a chuckle from all those assembled. 

“I think you look great…” Bruce said. “Yeah… I’m back.” 

Natasha looked over at him with a small smile. Lisa stepped up next to Steve and hooked their pinkies together, her subtle signal that she was there for him, and watched the interaction. It was awkward, and made worse when Sam pointed it out. 

Rhodes immediately took charge of the situation, getting them all into another area of the compound where they would be able to be more comfortable to discuss their plans moving forward. 

Sam was sitting, watching everyone else. Bruce had taken up pacing a little bit, as if he had nervous energy to burn. Steve stood behind Lisa’s chair, where she was sitting with her legs crossed and doing as Sam was doing, watching everyone else.

Bruce spoke at length about what it was that they were facing, and Lisa was getting concerned the more he spoke. When Vision suggested that they destroy the stone and mentioned that Wanda was the only one who had enough power to make the choice, Lisa couldn’t stop her reaction any more then she could have all those years before when she had opened her mouth and said something inappropriate to Bucky in the getaway car. She stood up and slid her arm around Steve’s waist, knowing that he would give his life again if it meant saving everyone. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and held her close. There was a soft muttered “I love you.” which relaxed her stance a little bit, but not a lot. 

Steve spoke up, stating that he wouldn’t sacrifice Vision’s life for everyone elses, and Vision turned towards him, asking why it was any different then what he had done over 70 years before. Bruce interjected, stating something about Vision’s mind being an amalgamation of himself, Tony, Jarvis and the mind stone, but there was no way for him to separate the mind stone with the technology he had here.

Lisa thought for a moment before she glanced at her wrist. There was a series of puncture scars around her wrist from the dampeners. She turned her gaze up to Steve’s as he caught her looking at the same thing he had. “We know someone, and it’s someone who rather enjoys a challenge like that.” He said with a small smile down at Lisa. 

Without too much more preamble, they were back in the air, with Rhodes in the quinjet as well. Lisa glanced up at Steve from where they were standing off to the side, just the two of them. His hand rested on her hip, and hers mirrored his. “You know that this might be the end right?” He asked her softly. 

“It’s only the end if we lose hope hun. And I don’t know about you… but given where we’re going… Hope abounds.” She replied. He smiled down at her and with his free hand, cupped her cheek. He leaned in and ghosted a soft kiss against her lips. 

Rhodes and Bruce both glanced over at them as they kissed, and then glanced at each other. “So uh when did this happen? What happened to the construction worker who laughed at my jokes about Tony?” Rhodes asked, gesturing between the two of them. 

“I grew a pair. Told him I fell in love with him, he spent a month panicking about it, then figured out he felt the same. We were in close quarters, and found each other. Problem Rhodey?” She asked with a smile as Steve pulled her in close to his chest. 

“Nope. You’re both too cute, I want you to know that. Oh! Before I forget, because you are going to LOVE this story Lisa. That cellphone Bruce used to call you? Delivery man couldn’t read who’s ever handwriting it was. Called Tony Mr. Stank.” 

Lisa giggled before she busted out in full laughter. “You’re kidding me!” 

“Honest to god truth.” 

“It was my writing! My construction worker scratch! None of you had seen it, I figured it would be the least likely to get traced back to us!” she laughed again, leaning against Steve with a wide smile on her face. “You never let it go right!?”

“Of course not, what do you take me for?!” Rhodes asked, grinning right back at her. 

As they landed in Wakanda, they were met by the delegation of the king and his guard. Steve asked about what reinforcements they had, and was given numbers and locations of the forces. Bucky stepped up to them, Lisa saw him before Steve did. She untangled herself from Steve’s side before she ran over to Bucky hugging him tight. He lifted her up, both arms coming around her to hug her back. “That’s new…” She smiled and lightly tapped his arm. 

“Yeah and it’s pretty comfortable too.” He replied as they walked over to where Steve was. “And a semi stable hundred year old man.” He called out. Steve glanced over and smiled wide, moving over to hug his best friend.

“How yah been Buck?”

“Not bad, for the end of the world.” While they talked over this, Vision was being led off by Shuri with Bruce following to lend his assistance where he could. 

“We should go with them to find out exactly what it is that they’re going to need from us. Then perhaps we’ll be able to get a little rest before this starts.” Steve said as he pulled Lisa close to his side again. Bucky grinned at them, and put his hand on Lisa’s shoulder, walking with the rest into the palace.

When they arrive at Shuri's lab, Lisa is enveloped in a large hug from the princess. She hugged her back and smiled. “It’s good to see you again Lisa.”

“And you Shuri. It all worked out.” Lisa winked as Shuri looked over Lisa’s shoulder to where Steve was talking to T’Challa and Bucky.

“I’m glad. Now go, I have a challenge to handle.” Shuri gave Lisa an excited look before she moved off to get Vision set up. Lisa moved to stand between Bucky and Steve, watching the others, with careful eyes. 

“I’ve got the perimeter set up. If you need to rest, please do so.” T’Challa said softly. “And I’ve had rooms arranged for you to rest. We want to be on our best foot for this.”

“I’ll come get you all, go rest Steve.” Bucky said as he put his hand on Steve’s shoulder around Lisa’s head. 

Steve nodded. “We’ll take you up on that offer.” He spoke before he took Lisa’s hand. “I think a small amount of rest would be good.” T’Challa nodded to someone behind them who led those that wanted to rest to rooms that were ready for them. Steve and Lisa slipped into the same room, and boots were off immediately. Lisa looked over at the bed.

“We almost shouldn’t sleep… Getting into our stealth gear will take a lot of time... “ She put her hands on her hips and looked back at him, but he was right next to her. She looked up at him, seeing how tired he looked. Lisa reached her hands up and cupped his face as he pulled her close.

“Just come lay down with me?” He whispered.

“Of course Steve. Whatever you want.” She smiled up at him, running her thumbs over his cheek bones. He pulled her over to the bed and sat down, before he pulled her down with him. They got comfortable together, his arms around her, her head on his chest, and legs tangled together. 

They laid in silence, and his hand ran through her hair. She almost fell asleep at it before he spoke up. “I’m afraid that we’re starting our last days.” His voice was soft and if she hadn’t had her ear to his chest, she might have missed it. 

Lisa leaned back, and shifted to straddle his lap, her hands resting against his stomach. His hands moved to her thighs and rubbed his thumbs against her hips. He looked up at her, and she smiled down at him. “Steve, love… You can’t think like that. We’re going to beat Thanos because that’s what we do. And we’re going to do it without losing anyone. Because we’re the fucking Avengers.” 

He smiled up at her and chuckled softly. “But if it is…” 

“Do you want to talk about that right now Steve?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. 

“I think we should.” 

Lisa pressed her lips together before she sighed. “Okay. Let’s talk about it.” She said softly. 

“I want you to know that I love you. That no matter what happens, you are on my mind. That I will do everything I can to come back to you.” He covered her hands on his stomach and she smiled at him sadly. 

“I know you will, and I know you love me. But Steve, we’re going to work together and be the same unit that Sam and Natasha have expected us to be. I love you. Nothing will ever change that fact. Nothing is going to stop me from loving you Steve. But we’re going to save everyone, because that’s who we are. That’s what we do. And you and I are going to walk away from this, stronger, and more assured of ourselves. We’re going to do our best, and live our lives together.” She spoke, before she leaned down. “I love you Steven Grant Rogers. From now until the end of my days. I will love you.” 

Steve smiled up at her, kissed her soft and slow. Pouring every emotion he felt for her into the kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist and held her flush against him. When they surfaced for air, she leaned back a little bit more. 

“I love you Lisa Marianne Leonard. You are the light to my life. My fixer.” He whispered, before their lips were pressed together again. There was a desperate edge to their affection, and they both tried to ignore it in favour of being together with just each other. Eventually they wound up dozing off, wrapped around each other, legs tangled again, her arms folded in front of her as he held her close, and his lips were pressed to her forehead. 

Steve opened his eyes as he heard footsteps approaching them. Lisa was asleep, and he didn’t want to wake her up just yet. There was a soft rap on the door, and Steve called out quietly for them to come in. He would know those footsteps anywhere. Bucky stepped in, and closed the door behind him. Bucky walked over and sat down on the end of the bed. 

“Is it time?” Steve asked quietly, watching his best friend. 

“Yeah. You know that no one would blame you for just running off with her right?” Bucky gently patted Lisa’s calf. 

“We would. We would blame ourselves for not staying. For not helping when we could have.” He replied. Steve turned his eyes down to Lisa who had just shifted closer to him, struggling for the last few moments of sleep she would get. 

Blue eyes turned up to look at Bucky’s brown eyes and he looked determined. “I’m not leaving any time soon. I have people who rely on me this time.” 

Bucky laughed softly. “You really need to learn how to lie better. If I don’t see you beating up the largest fucker on that field, I’m going to be surprised.” 

Steve opened his mouth to refute it before Lisa’s hand reached up to cover his lips. “He’s right Steve. We both know you. You don’t like bullies, remember? You’re definitely going to fight the biggest fucker on the field.” Lisa’s voice was sleepy, but she sat up, rubbing her eyes. “It’s time isn’t it?” 

“Yeah it is, little fixer.” Bucky said with a small smile at her.

“Maybe we could have called me the Fixer instead of Sordes…” Lisa mused softly as she crossed her legs and rubbed her eyes free of sleep and tried to wake up fully. “Well… It’s just another Doomsday and I’m not ready to drop my time card off yet.” She glanced over at Steve, who was sitting up next to her as well. She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him against her. She extended her other arm to Bucky, pulling both of them in for a hug, and being wrapped up by the two super soldiers. 

“May the devil have mercy… because we sure in hell won’t.” She whispered. 

“Hoo-rah!” They both replied to her, before Steve and Lisa got up to get their boots on.


	25. The Fight in Wakanda

The trio walked back into the main room as they got notice that there was something entering the atmosphere. Lisa’s hand slid down to Steve’s and she laced their fingers together. She gripped his hand, as they looked out at the area. He kept her close, and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “We will meet them down on the field, over there.” T’Challa said as he pointed out where they were going to fight whatever it was that was coming to kill them. “Those who aren’t ready, suit up, and someone get this man a shield.” He gestured to Steve, who gave a small smile. Lisa glanced up at Steve with a smile on her face as well. 

T’Challa stepped up next to them, glancing at Lisa. “Is there something in my armory that I may offer to you?” 

“No your majesty. I have everything I need.” She smiled at him before he nodded. “You better suit up, we have a world to save.” 

T’Challa nodded, before he stepped away. It wasn’t long before someone stepped up with Steve’s shields. Lisa’s hand left his, and watched how Steve put them on. Once he was settled, she turned them over, liking how it looked on his wrists. They weren’t the big shield, but they were still nice. She smiled up at him, and laced their hands together, stepping into his space, as he leaned down into her space as well. Pressing their foreheads together, she hummed softly.

“My love. I want you to be safe, but do not worry about me. Please. You’ve prepared me as much as you possibly could, and I will never forget it. We will support each other, and keep each other safe.” She whispered to him. There was panic rising in her chest, but standing in front of him like this, it was easy to stamp down. She didn’t want him to have her stay here.

“How do you always know what to say?” He asked her with a smile on his lips. 

“I’ve had….5 years of practice.” She replied, before she pulled back. Everyone was heading down to the shuttles, and Steve kept her hand in his. He had every intention of keeping her close until it came down to them having to fight. She was everything to him, and he wanted her to know that. At this point, when everything was going to hell, he didn’t care who saw them together. They loaded into one of the shuttles, Natasha and Bucky near them. Lisa leaned against the side as she looked over the beautiful landscape. 

“I can see how you’d like it here Bucky…” She said. He leaned next to her and nodded. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stop by more often to see you over the last year.” 

“It’s okay Lisa, I understand. I understand entirely. After all, you promised to keep him from doing something stupid. It’s a full time job.” He said with a grin. Steve a noise of indignation as if he were offended by what they were saying. Steve’s arms wrapped around Lisa’s waist, and pulled her back against him, glancing over at Bucky and Natasha. 

“I’m sorry Steve, but they’re right. You sometimes do some stupid things.” She grinned as she crossed her arms. 

“I can’t believe that you would all say something like that behind my back like this…” He pouted. Lisa tilted her head back, and kissed his cheek. 

“Oh darling, you know I only speak the truth, and I refuse to stop now. Besides, I like a challenge, and you, my dearest, are the best challenge.” She teased, resting her hands over the shields on his wrists. Steve smiled and rested his cheek against hers.

“Alright there missus smooth.” He teased back, hugging her tight. His voice was soft against her ear. “I love you Lisa.”

She smiled softly and leaned her head back, kissing his cheek, reaching one hand up and sliding it into his hair. Natasha and Bucky turned to watch the landscape as they flew by it, giving the pair what privacy they could. Natasha reached out and patted Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Can’t blame them.”

“No we can’t. Just gotta ” 

* * *

Lisa stayed next to Bucky when Steve went with T’Challa and Natasha to the barrier to talk to those that were here for Vision. She shifted her feet a little more against the ground before she tried to control herself from the panic that was threatening to spill over. She glanced after Steve again before she inhaled softly and ducked down behind everyone else. 

Bucky turned to talk to her, only not to see her at first. He caught sight of her uniform where it was on the ground and crouched next to her. “Breathe Lisa. Come on, deep breath.” 

Lisa turned scared eyes to Bucky, and nodded. She inhaled deep, matching his, before she let it out. She reached out and put her hand on his upper arm, for something to ground herself with. 

“You gonna be okay?”

“I have no idea. No fucking idea.” she responded as she knelt on the ground. “I’ve faced down Hydra without this much panic.” She stared back at the ground. “But this is the world. Not just one mission. This is everything…” Her voice was a whisper, and he shifted closer, one knee going onto the ground as he put the gun on his back. 

“Look at me.” 

Lisa shook her head, not wanting to show just how scared she really was. 

Bucky just leaned forward, and spoke in a voice that broke no argument. It was reminiscent of Steve’s Captain America tone he used when he didn’t want arguments, but had more force behind it as if Bucky had more practice using it. “I said look at me Sordes.” 

Lisa’s eyes immediately snapped up to his, and she saw how calm he was. “This is not the time to fall apart, do you understand me? I know that this is serious and how terrified you are. I know that this is everything, but you have to keep yourself together.” He said lowly. 

She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I don’t know if I can…Bucky I’m not a soldier, I’m a construction worker from Connecticut...” 

“Not anymore you’re not. You’re an Avenger, just like he is. You’re Sordes, and Captain America and the Winter Soldier are going to be relying on you. Are you going to let them down?” He asked, seeing her find her resolve again. 

“No. No I am not.” 

He helped her to her feet, before he straightened his clothing. Lisa reached out and caught his wrist before he stepped away. “Please don’t tell him I nearly cracked. He’ll be unable to focus if you do…”

Bucky shook his head. “I won’t say anything. I promise. Protect yourself, and us and we’ll make sure that you’re safe.” 

She swallowed and nodded, drawing in breath slowly before she pulled her mask into place, and hid her fear deep down as Steve approached them again. 

“Did they surrender?” Bucky asked as Steve stopped next to Lisa.

“Not exactly.” Steve replied as they watched the aliens that were coming to fight them slam themselves against the barrier until they started to manage to get through. The Wakandans set up their first defense, and fired at the enemies at range as they broke through. 

Steve’s arm went around Lisa’s shoulders and held her close for a moment. She put her arm around his waist, and squeezed tight. There wouldn’t be enough time for them to talk once it started, and she watched as they both saw the way the aliens were going around the edge of the barrier to get around the entire force field. Once it was brought to attention, T’Challa gave the word to open the barrier, and everyone waited for his signal. 

Lisa grabbed a hold of Steve’s chest straps, pulled her mask down and tugged him down to kiss him quickly. “Be safe Steve.” She whispered. That could possibly be their last kiss, and even though she wanted to take her time with it, they didn’t have the time. He nodded to her and as soon as the word to open the barrier was given, they all took off. Steve and T’Challa were well beyond them in moments, diving into the fray as soon as they could. 

Earth was flying everywhere, and she tried to keep up with others, dropping aliens into pits and closing it up on them. She kept running, sliding along the ground as she slammed her hands onto the dirt and sent herself flying forward. Tumbling as she hit the ground she got up and ran, not pulling punches. Lisa was making any earth she fought with into spikes and weapons she could actually use. She didn’t want to kill but this time it was kill or be killed.

She just kept moving her way closer to Steve, and kept herself in sight of Bucky and Steve to be able to help them. Something told her to look to her right, and as she turned, the alien coming for her missed by just a small amount. Her right foot shifted and it fell into a pit that she closed immediately afterwards. Lisa was rocked forward as she was grabbed, and she rolled around while the alien tried to bite her head off. She gave a grunt of frustration and quickly slammed her hands onto the ground. She opened a pit underneath her, took a large breath before she moved her body through the earth as she closed it around the alien to protect herself. 

As she broke the surface again, she panted for a moment, before the land next to her exploded and sent her fl ying. She rolled to lay on her back for a moment, her ears ringing. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled over to get to her hands and knees. 

“Kssshhhhh”

Lisa covered her ear with her communication unit and tried to focus on the sound. It was all static before she shook her head. 

“Get up! Today is no day to die!” Her eyes opened to see T’Challa in front of her, reaching out to pull her up to her feet. She stood up with his help.

“I’m good, go!” Lisa ran with him, getting her powers moving. She slid next to T’Challa, both hands on the ground as she skewered three aliens coming for Steve’s back. She whirled, T’Challa running off from her, as she skewered more aliens that were coming for Bucky. 

She lost sight of them a few times, but she maintained her position for the most part, fighting back as much as she could. But they were slowly getting overrun, there were just too many aliens. 

Her body was moving on self preservation mode, and she looked around to see where she could help. Her position was being overrun as well, aliens coming for her over the barriers she threw up. She was tackled to the ground again, but this time, she couldn’t get her hands down onto the ground. Her arms were being pulled apart from each other and she gave a scream of frustration at them. 

There was a blinding light as the bifrost opened, and Thor arrived with what looked like a tree and a walking raccoon. She could feel her muscles straining and continued to struggle. The shockwave that Thor sent out was enough to loosen their grip and for her to touch the ground enough to kill all the aliens around her. She jerked her arms back to her body with a small hiss of pain and took a moment to catch her breath before she was back on her feet. She had to keep going. Had to fight. People were relying on her, couldn’t let them down. 

Time didn’t really have any more meaning… She was just constantly scanning the battlefield for combatants, or people she could help. Lisa had no vision on anyone she knew, but saw the effects of some of them. Sam and Rhodes were in the sky, faster than she could track. Lighting coursed across the battlefield, that was Thor. Gun fire: Bucky. Her comms were full of chatter. Situational reports. There was a flare of red, Wanda had arrived on the field. 

Lisa ran towards the barrier, limping just a little bit. The earth was shuddering and she tried to stabilize it with every step she took, just to make it easier on her allies. She had to find somewhere to help. “S-Sam… I need a lift. Get me closer to the opening in the barrier!” She called into her comm unit. 

She kept her eyes on the skies, running towards the barrier. “Coming up on your six Sordes.” Her hand went up into the air, and she felt a hand wrap around it, lifting her off the ground. Looking up, she saw that it was Rhodes who had a hold of her. “How close?”

“Get me close to Cap!” 

“You got it.” He said before he dropped her off near Steve’s location. She rolled as she hit the ground, and broke up the fight around Steve. Lisa was back on her feet and standing next to him as they considered their next target. She was panting, and had her hands at her side, shaking slightly. 

“You know the drill. Launch me Lisa.” 

“Yup. Direction?”

“The opening.” 

She shifted back, but before she could send him forward, they heard the call for assistance for Vision. Banner immediately responded, only to inform them he needed more. Lisa nodded at Steve, before she ran forward next to him, and slammed her hands on the ground, sending him towards the opening. 

She ran forward, hands down as she pulled earth up to her hands, and used it to accelerate her forward. Still nowhere near as fast as Steve, especially with the headstart she had given him, she followed the sounds of fighting which were easier to track once she was in the forest. When she got there, he was helping Vision sit back down. Lisa was immediately beside him, helping support him as well. 

“You’re really fucking fast, you know that Steve…” She grouched good naturedly, while he gave a small chuckle. They were both looking worse for wear, and she moved to stand in front of him. He reached up to brush hair back from her face, before he cupped her cheek. She smiled up at him, letting him ground her a little bit before they focused back up. The others were quick to arrive, and she looked to the side when a portal opened. 

What walked through was bigger than anything she had ever seen. Steve didn’t even think about it as he ran in. Wanda turned to start destroying the mind stone. Lisa stayed back, trying to support from the back, knelt down and her hands pressed against the earth, her concentration split between trying to catch people being thrown around and slowing the big guy down. But every step he tore his foot out from her grip, and she watched him throw her teammates, her friends, to the side as if they were nothing. When Steve got back up and in front of Thanos, she supported him as best she could, bracing him to give him more power, before he was knocked to the side like he was not the strongest man she knew. Lisa screamed in her anger, before she ran forward, summoning spikes to skewer him, that he turned into nothing more than things she couldn’t control. She knew she wouldn’t be a match for him. But she did it anyway. Anything to give Wanda more time. He didn’t stop, just continued to walk forward, grabbing a hold of Lisa as she tried to get him pinned down. 

His hand dwarfed her neck and she gripped onto his wrist. With her feet no longer touching the ground, she had no use of her powers. Thanos squeezed, and she gave a harsh gasp before clawing at his skin. He took another two steps before she stopped struggling and he threw her to the side, gasping hard, with her hands around her throat. She had landed face down, was sure something was crushed, but she had no idea what. There was no strength left to roll over. 

What happened next was a blur of focusing on trying to breathe for her. Someone was kneeling next to her, rolling her over so that she could breathe properly. There was a press against her neck and face mask that was strangling her relaxed enough to let her breathe more normally. It was Bucky who was next to her, and he helped her stand before he got his gun again and moved towards where Steve was standing with Thor, asking what had happened. 

She ripped off her face mask before she started to limp over to Steve, her hand resting at the base of her throat. 

“Steve…” Lisa’s gaze snapped to Bucky as he seemed to just turn to ash. She hit her knees, covering her mouth. 

“Wh-where did he go?” She whispered, before she heard others starting to call out for people. Lisa crawled over next to Steve, putting her hand on his shoulder. Gulping back a sob, she felt his arm come around her waist, and pull her close. She wrapped her arms around his head, as if she could shield him from the sight. Just for a moment, Steve let himself be comforted. Then he helped her up and over to Vision, to see what had happened. 

He turned the corpse over, before he sat down heavily on the ground. 

“What is this? What the hell is happening?” Rhodes asked, looking at everyone else. 

Steve looked towards the battlefield and thought for a moment, before he softly spoke. “Oh god…”

* * *

Art by the every lovely [Cadet761!](https://twitter.com/Cadet761) Go show her some love. I may have convinced her to delve into Marvel with this commission. <3


	26. The Aftermath

Once the reality of what had occured set in, they were all beset with a sense of loss and unknown direction. They had failed and Thanos had succeeded. As a group they had headed back to the Wakandan palace, after Lisa got Bruce out of the stone wall he had been put into by Thanos. That had taken the last of her energy, and Steve had wound up carrying her back, despite Rhodes offering to take her for him. 

As soon as they were back, it was to reports of mass hysteria, of governments in shambles, and reports of people unsure what was going to happen. 

Lisa was leaning against Steve, his arm around her shoulders to help keep her upright. “We have to help them… But how?” 

The room was all introspective, contemplating her words. It was quiet in the room except for the reports from around the world about how they had been affected by this entire situation. Natasha sighed, before she sat down heavily in a chair. “Well those of us with any sort of political knowledge are going to have to get on this. Especially to help coordinate relief efforts.” Natasha’s words started everyone else talking, covering what they all had for knowledge in the situation. Many of them left had military experience, but political knowledge wasn’t in wide supply. Most had sat down to discuss this, taking the chance to get off their feet after such a hard fight.

“I can help coordinate with relief efforts. I was basically a second foreman on the construction sites I worked on, so I know how to organize people anyway.” Lisa spoke up. “Plus if I can get on locations, then I can help with any repairs.” 

Natasha noted it down, and nodded. 

“This is a great start, but we’re not going to be able to do any of it today. Get some rest, we’ll start up once you’ve all woken up.” Steve was pacing as he spoke, since despite his tiredness, he was still not quite coming to terms with what had happened. There had to be something he could do, something more that he could have done. 

Everyone gave a quiet agreement before filtering out to find somewhere to rest. Lisa didn’t move from her spot, watching as Steve kept pacing. She shifted, and gave a stifled groan as muscles she had pulled protested her movement. His gaze immediately turned to her, and he moved over next to her, sitting down in a chair heavily. He turned so that he was facing her, and reached out his hands for hers. She put her hands in his and leaned forward so that their foreheads were pressed together. 

“You did everything you could Steve…” 

“But it wasn’t enough…” 

“I don’t know if any of us were equipped to give enough to stop him… He literally undid everything Wanda had done...How are any of us supposed to fight that?” 

“I don’t know.” His voice was soft, and held an edge of defeat to it. “How many more times am I going to watch Bucky disappear from me without being able to save him?”

Lisa took her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shifting closer to him despite how her body ached. “Come on, we should follow your orders and go rest.” She said, pressing her lips to his forehead. 

“Can you get up?”

“I don’t know. I’m having a hard time moving.” She replied softly before he shifted closer to her, and picked her up into his arms. Lisa rested her head against his shoulder and her face scrunched up from the pain in her body. “When I get back up… I better fix that field where we fought… at least as much as I can…” She murmured, hands clasped together, her body shaking a little bit. 

“In the morning Lisa.” He entered the room that they had shared before, and set her down on her feet, steadying her. His shields had long since been removed, and he helped her out of her stealth suit, before removing his own. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up, a shower will do us both good.” 

Lisa nodded, and felt herself go onto autopilot as much as her body allowed. Steve supported her as he got her in under the hot spray, and let her lean against him to just relax under the water. He tilted her head back to help her wash her hair before he got her to switch places with him. Lisa leaned against his back, her arms wrapped around his waist, holding on tight. As if the snap wasn’t done and if she let go, he was going to disappear. 

He stood there for a while, hot water beating down on his face, his hands over hers on his skin, and just felt nothing. He was numb, as if what had happened hadn’t really sunk in yet. The water ran cold, and both were shivering before he reached out to turn off the water. Careful movements got them out of the shower before they collapsed onto the bed. Lisa shifted until she was pressed against his front, her arms around his waist, and her face tucked into his neck and shoulder. His arms were around her and tucked the blankets around both of them. 

Neither fell asleep, every move they had made playing through their minds. It was hard to think that this had all happened in less than 48 hours.

Lisa could tell he wasn’t asleep. She had been sleeping next to him for the better part of the last year, and he had a slow rhythmic pattern to his breathing when he slept. No snoring that she had heard, but he wasn’t relaxing enough to sleep just yet. 

“Talk to me Steve.” She whispered. 

“What good will it do? Talking won’t bring them back.”

“No, but it might help you relax enough to rest.” Lisa’s fingers ran over his back softly. 

Steve was quiet for a moment, before he sighed softly. “I can’t stop thinking that if I had been faster, had the shield… If I had just signed the Accords… would things have gone differently?” 

Lisa’s eyebrows pulled down in a frown. “If you had been faster? Steve, how much faster do you want to be?” She asked softly before she relaxed a little more in his arms. “Hun… This wouldn’t have changed if you had had the shield. And who says that the Accords would have let us mobilize this fast?” 

“You’re right. But it doesn’t stop me from thinking it though.” 

“Don’t let it consume you Steve. Things aren’t going to change now.” She snuggled in a little bit more, and sighed softly. “If I had been a soldier like you… would things have been different?” 

“Maybe… but besides the experiences… you are a soldier Lisa.” Steve’s hand carded through her wet hair, and she pressed her lips to his skin. 

“I felt so out of my depth…” 

“We were all out of depth.” He said softly, before shifting her one last time, and slowed his breathing down. They fell asleep wrapped up in each other. 

The next couple weeks were a flurry of helping governments restore order and help those that needed it. Those that survived moved back into the Avengers compound, running operations from the building to help everyone. More often than not, Lisa was off in the quinjet alone as she went to help organize relief efforts, back in her green and black uniform with the Avengers A on her shoulders. She was on her way back from San Francisco where she had been helping set up a memorial area, when she saw something out of this world landing on their lawn. 

She landed the quinjet before she ran out, sliding to a stop on the slight damp grass next to Pepper to see a blonde woman stop glowing before the hatch opened, and Tony was stepping down the steps, looking weaker then any of them had seen before. Lisa’s hands covered her mouth, her eyes glancing over to the blue figure that was helping Tony down the steps. She was frozen in place, but Steve was running forward with Pepper just steps behind him to help Tony get to the ground safely. 

Rocket walked over to the blue figure, as Pepper and Tony were reunited. Lisa finally found it in herself to move, and she approached where Rocket was sitting next to Nebula. The others were getting Tony inside and making sure that he had all the medical attention he needed. Lisa crouched in front of them. “Thank you for bringing Tony back…” She said. “My name is Lisa Leonard, I can get you settled here.” Lisa held her hand out to Nebula.

“I am Nebula. He is smart, tried to fix the ship… It just couldn’t be salvaged.” Nebula regarded her hand like she wasn’t sure if she was being insulted. Rocket nudged her gesturing for her to shake Lisa’s hand. It was quickly shaken before Lisa stood up and gestured towards the compound.

“Come on, you can shower and relax.” she said as she extended her hand down to Rocket for him to scamper to her shoulder. She walked them both in, showing Nebula the room she would be able to call hers while they stayed there. “Can I help you with anything else?’ Lisa asked as she let Rocket get down onto the bed. 

“No, thank you.” Nebula replied. Lisa nodded and slipped out, beelining for the medical ward. Banner was in there, with one of the medical team that were assisting Rhodes and Pepper dealing with Tony’s check up. Steve was standing outside the room, leaning against the wall as he waited for the status of how Tony was. She took his hand in hers, leaning against him as they watched what was proceeding in the room. 

“He’s okay…” Steve’s voice was soft. 

Lisa smiled. “It’s good news. And we can’t have enough of that right now.” His hand untangled from hers, and went around her shoulders. Her arm went around his waist, and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head. 

“Yes it is.” 

She turned her head up to look at him, and pulled back. “You shaved your face…”

“Yeah… We aren’t running anymore. Figured it was time.” He replied as he turned towards her, with a raised eyebrow.

Her hands moved up to gently cup his smooth cheeks. “You had that beard for the better part of two years, give me a little time to mourn it, because it was a beautiful beard.” She teased, sticking her tongue out at him. He laughed, and bent down to kiss her nose softly, holding her close. 

* * *

Once they were sure that Tony wasn’t going to pass out on them, they gathered in the meeting room. Conversation was sharp, and when Steve asked Tony for details of where they could find Thanos, Tony lost his patience. He worked himself up to the point where he collapsed, and had to be sedated. It hurt to see the man so upset over his belief that Steve had abandoned him. Lisa watched Carol walk off without them, stating something about her going to kill Thanos. Lisa’s nose curled at the woman’s audacity that she was better than everyone else in the room. 

Even Natasha spoke up, mentioning that they worked as a team for this. There was a slew of questions, none of which Carol had a definitive answer for. 

Lisa looked past Carol to Nebula who was standing in the doorway. 

“Don’t bother. I can tell you where Thanos is.” Nebula looked almost pained for what she was going to share with them. 

The plan was pretty quickly formed, and Lisa sat at the table, watching it all unfolding. 

Bruce seemed to be the only one that was willing to speak up about the idea that this could just end as badly as before. 

“Because before you didn’t have me.” Carol spoke with her hands on her hips. Lisa turned a glare over towards her. Something about this super woman was setting her teeth on edge, and Lisa was too wound up from all the other shit that was going on to be patient with how this woman was treating all of them. However Rhodes beat her to speaking up. 

“Hey new girl? Everyone in here is about that superhero life. And if you don’t mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?”

“There’s a lot of other planets in the universe, and unfortunately, they didn’t have you guys.”

Thor stood without saying a word, and stood in front of Carol, holding his hand out for Stormbreaker. It flew into his hand, and she didn’t even flinch. “I like this one.” He said, with a small nod of approval. 

“Let’s get this son of a bitch.” Steve’s conviction was almost palpable. The others moved to get suited up, and Lisa stayed seated where she was. Steve was on his way out of the door when he glanced over his shoulder, seeing her not moving and staring at the planet that was spinning around slowly. He called out to Natasha that he would be ready in a bit before he moved back over to the table, holding onto the back of the chair Lisa was sitting in. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. It feels… I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling that this isn’t the right choice. Can’t explain it. Nothing more than a gut feeling, but I don’t want to go Steve. I don’t think I could handle getting there, and then finding out it was a waste of time.” 

Steve turned her chair around and crouched in front of her, his hands on the arms of her chair, hands against her elbows. “And if it wasn’t a waste of time?” 

“Then we need someone here regardless to be able to coordinate everyone being brought back. I’ve made commitments to helping people that are still here hun. I can’t forsake those that I know I can help for the chance that I can help others. Please don’t ask me to do that. Because if YOU ask, if you request or order me to go with you, I won’t disobey you, I won’t say no. But I will be upset with you for making me go.” she replied softly, watching him carefully. This was the first time they hadn’t been on the same page in the years they had known each other. It was a real test of how far he was going to push her to be what he wanted. 

He smiled at her just a little bit, and nodded. He understood where she was coming from, and he couldn’t make her do something she didn’t agree with. Not after the final fight, and every other time she had followed him into a mission. “Okay. I’ll be back soon, alright?” 

She nodded back and leaned forward, pulling him forward a little bit, kissing him softly. “Come home safe sweetheart.” She whispered as she pulled back from the kiss. He gave one sharp nod, before he stood and left her alone.


	27. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second NSFW chapter! Hope you're all enjoying the ride as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3
> 
> \---
> 
> Also we're assuming they're practicing safe sex with a good IUD.

Lisa stood on the landing pad watching them lift off. A part of her felt like she was making the right call, but still another part of her almost demanded that she had gone with them. Her mind wanted to loop into believing that because she didn’t go, that things were going to go badly. That this was going to be the last time she saw Steve or any of the others. That she was going to be the only person left on Earth besides Tony to protect it. She had pressed a chess piece, the queen, into Steve’s hand before he had left, her way of telling him she would always be there for him. 

She threw herself into the work she had lined up, flying back out to San Francisco to help finish the memorial before it was onto the next major city. 

She learned how to run meetings while she did work on the memorials, recording every meeting so that she could make notes after, making sure she didn’t miss anything. Lisa started turning the television on in every room she was in, just to stave off the quietness. After all those years surrounded by everyone else… being alone now felt weird. But she just kept herself busy. Slept in one of Steve’s t-shirts when she actually did get to sleep. 

For a week, she was alone, helping run the world with who was left. It was the middle of the night when the others got back, and she was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes when she heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. call out to her that they were back. Lisa moved to the edge of the bed, and was reaching out for her phone which was plugged in to check the time, 3 am. She had gotten a grand total of an hour and a half of sleep. Staggering to her feet, she was halfway to the door when it opened, and Steve was standing in front of her, dressed in his stealth suit. “Hey…” she yawned, squeezing her eyes shut hard for a moment before she opened them again. He looked dejected, like they had lost someone on their mission. “Oh no… what happened?” 

“He used the stones… to destroy the stones…” Steve strode by her and started to pull his stealth suit off, before he was left in just his boxers. She moved over to sit on the bed, getting the lights on at half so that she didn’t destroy her retinas, but he could still see. 

He sat down heavily on the bed and she crawled over, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, kissing his cheek softly. “I’m sorry Steve… I know you were banking on that working.” She whispered. She didn’t gloat that she had been right, because that wasn’t the appropriate response. He had been relying on that hope since it was still fresh, and it would do irreparable damage to their relationship. He reached up and ran his hand over her forearms. 

“I just… I don’t know what to do. We can’t bring them back. Trillions of people in the universe, gone.” He said softly, leaning back into her embrace. 

“We just have to keep moving forward. One day at a time, just like dealing with grief.” She pulled him back to lay down with her. He wrapped himself around her, laying his head on her shoulder. He ran his hand down her side, before he pulled his head back a little bit.

“Sweetheart, are you wearing my shirt?”

“Yeah… It was a way to have you close while you weren’t here. Is that okay?” She asked with a small smile at him. 

“It’s perfect. I’m glad you were here when I got back.” His voice was soft, and he tucked his head back against her shoulder. 

“I didn’t know when you guys would be back… I rearranged some of my help outs, made sure I stayed in the States so I could always be here for the night.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Made sure I was always here at night…And FRIDAY was there to alert me during the day.” 

“How much sleep have you had while we were gone?” 

Lisa paused, leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. “In the week you were gone…A grand total of 24 hours spread across 7 days. Didn’t get to sleep till late, had to be up early. I ran meetings all day over top of making the memorials. It’s been a stressful week, and we still don’t get a break after this.” She said softly.

He leaned up, and kissed her softly. “Then sleep sweetheart. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Lisa smiled tiredly up at him. 

“Okay hun. I love you Steve…”

“I love you too Lisa.” The sheets were pulled up around them, and Lisa was out in five minutes.

* * *

Lisa leaned her head back, feeling a hand gently slide up her body. She gave a small hum, reaching up to rub her eyes and leaned her body back against the large form behind her. She opened her eyes and turned her head to the side, seeing Steve’s face buried against her shoulder. 

“Mmm good morning hun….” She mumbled. His replying chuckle vibrated against her back, and she smiled. Her hand moved back, and slid through his hair. “What time is it?”

Steve shifted them and reached over her to grab her phone. Turning the display on, it showed 5 am. “It went off at 4:30… but you didn’t wake up. And I messaged Natasha where she’d be able to find your notes to take the meetings so that you could keep sleeping. Did I wake you up?” He asked softly, holding her tight. 

“Yeah… but I’ve been up at around this time every day, so I don’t think I’d sleep more.” She let her eyes drift closed again but shifted in his arms until she was facing him. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Some. Not a lot. I feel tired, but not really…” He said softly, as he leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead. 

“Are you feeling okay?” She asked, leaving her eyes closed. She wasn’t a great morning person, and honestly, waking up to Steve for the first time in a week was a boon to her routine. 

“No…I feel numb. Like everything we did was meaningless.” He said softly. 

Lisa leaned back, and opened her eyes, looking at her partner’s tired face. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. His hand moved up her back, fisting into the shirt she was wearing. “So let yourself feel alive Steve. With me. However you like.” She whispered against his lips. 

Steve smiled against her lips and gave a soft sigh. He didn’t say another word, instead just kissing her soft and slow, rolling them over so that Lisa was on her back, and he was over top of her. His hand moved up over her breast, gripping a little harder then he normally would. She moaned softly and arched her back into the grip, one arm around his shoulders, and the other in his hair. 

His tongue brushed against her lips, wanting her to open up underneath him. Her tongue ran against his, and turned her head a little bit so that he could deepen the kiss. Her hands moved down his back, gently dragging her nails across his skin, and it made his muscles jump. She shifted her hips up against his, feeling how he already wanted her. Lisa lifted her leg, and rested her foot against his upper thigh near his ass. He groaned softly as he shifted closer to her, letting himself settle his weight more heavily against her. He broke the kiss and moved down her neck, sucking a mark against her skin where her neck met her shoulder.

His hand moved down to her hip, and slid up underneath the shirt, until his hand was against the bare skin of her breast. “I love that you wear my shirt for sleeping Lisa…” He whispered to her. 

“It let me be close to you.” She replied, her voice breathy. “Mmm Steve…” 

Her body shudders in his grip, and gasps as his fingers pinched her nipple and gently tugged on it. She spread her legs a little bit more, and could feel how he strained against his boxers already. She wanted nothing more than to almost rush this. To just take from them both and hit their completion. But she had told him to take her however he wanted. So they would move at his pace. 

He pulled back and tugged the shirt up and over her head, dragging her hands up over her head. His shirt was soon on the floor, and he ran his hands back down her body, bracketing her hips as he watched her splayed out on the bed for him. Her thighs were up by his waist, and she smirked at him as she put her hands behind her head, giving a languid stretch of her body. 

She was covered in scars from their fights against Hydra, as well as a few fresh ones from the final fight in Wakanda that were the healing shade of pink. His hands moved over her stomach, to the side with the first wound she had ever taken from a mission. Then he leaned down to kiss against that star shaped scar, before he found the next one, and kissed it as well. He worshipped every inch of her he could, and she writhed as he did so. Her hands weren’t still, running over his scars that she could reach.

“Steve… Please…” She whispered, giving a small whimper of need.

“Patience sweetheart.” He replied before he took a little bit of pity on her, and slid his hand between them and over her panties. Her hips shifted and she pressed herself more firmly against his fingers. Her teeth were viced around her lower lip as she gave a low moan. 

His mouth was around her nipple and she shuddered in her pleasure. She gasped when he went over to her other nipple and gave it the same treatment as the other. His hands slipped above her panties, before he slowly slid his hand beneath the fabric, stroking over her slick folds before he circled over that sensitive nub that always made her whine for him. This time was no different, and he moved up to kiss her again, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she kissed him back. 

He pulled back just enough that he could speak against her lips. “We’re alone, there’s no need to be so quiet…” He spoke low before he kissed her again, his hand that was between her legs sliding a little lower until he could slide his ring and middle finger into her, using his thumb to continue to rub against her clit. Lisa gasped as she felt him enter her, giving a high pitched whine of pleasure as he curled his fingers, so practiced at bringing her to the edge of pleasure and keeping her there. 

She pulled back from the kiss, and threw her head back, her body wound tight like a spring. “Please… Steve… Please….” She panted softly, holding him as close as she could to her body. 

“Go ahead Lisa… Come undone for me.” He whispered in her ear, not letting up his movements against her clit or her g-spot. Her mouth opened up in a silent ‘o’ of pleasure, body shaking as she clenched around his fingers. Lisa rose over that edge of pleasure, and fell through her orgasm that Steve kept prolonging for as long as he could until she whimpered that it was too much. 

He pulled back, moving to remove his boxers while he gave her a chance to recover a little bit. He was reaching for the bedside table, remembering that Tony would have kept all the rooms stocked for any eventuality. Lisa turned her head towards him, giving a small hum as she appreciated his very naked form. “It’s still in Steve… We’re good to go, just like we talked about.” She gave a smile at him as his gaze turned back to her and he climbed back on the bed, before he moved back between her legs. His hard cock rested above her mound, and he braced his hands on either side of her shoulders. 

“Then guide me in sweetheart.” He smiled down at her, a smile she matched, before she reached down, and slowly ran her hand up and down his cock before she shifted so that he was positioned at her entrance. He pressed forward, and she moved both hands down to his knees, holding on as she arched her back and threw her head back in pleasure. He groaned, pushing in a little further, feeling how she clenched around him in pleasure. Steve took his time, pressing into her until his hips met hers. 

“You feel so good…” He moaned before he leaned his head down and shifted his legs just a little bit further apart. Then he pulled back and started to thrust into her, taking his pleasure from her, listening to how she fell apart underneath him, moaning for him, meeting him thrust for thrust. Steve was picking up the pace, sweat starting to gleam against his skin, and hers. Her hands moved up his chest until they were around his neck and tugged him down towards her. He complied, kissing her hard and fast, just the way he was fucking her. 

She was squeezing tight around his cock, telling him how close she was again. “With me?” He panted out, moving his face down to her shoulder, kissing against some of the marks he had left there before. 

“Y-yes.” She moaned into his ear. She moaned even louder when he bit down on her shoulder, pressing in as deep as he could, groaning into her ear as he came. He rested most of his weight on his forearms as he panted. 

They caught their breath, and Steve pulled back, flopping onto his back. They turned their heads to look at each other and smiled. “Almost wish I had done that when I had gotten back last night, but you looked absolutely exhausted.” 

Lisa laughed softly. “You mean more than I do now?” she teased before she hummed softly. 

Steve laughed softly before he shook his head. “You looked more rested then when I got here this morning.” He reached over, resting his hand against her stomach. “I love you, you know that?”

“Really? I had no idea.” She replied with a small smirk, her hand covering his. 

“I think a part of me was expecting you not to be here…”

Lisa’s smirk faded, before she sat up, and leaned over him. “Heaven and hell couldn’t keep me from you Steve. Big ass aliens, natural disasters, nothing. Only thing I won’t be able to beat is time.” she vowed, cupping his cheek as he looked up at her. 

He smiled up at her, before he pulled her down, his hand in her hair and kissed her softly. “Think you can get some more sleep?” He asked once she was snuggled up against his side. 

“Shower first, then probably.” She replied, but she didn’t make a move to get up to go for the shower.


	28. It isn't fair

Lisa had taken her shower and slept with him for another three hours, waking up around 9 am, feeling better from those three hours wrapped up with Steve, then she had over the last week. Those good feelings weren’t going to last for long though, as they received another city’s worth of people who were snapped. This was most of the city reports for Connecticut, and her hands shook as she quickly scrolled to New Haven’s list. Steve was standing next to her, looking through other city’s reports, before he saw her nearly panicking. He reached out and closed his hands over hers. “Lisa, sweetheart, take a breath.” 

“I can’t. I have to know… I have to know Steve…” She whispered.

“Okay, give me the name you’re looking for. I’ll see if it’s there.” He said softly, pulling her against him. 

“Randy Moore.” She whispered, her hands fisting in his shirt. He rubbed his hand against her back before he started to scroll through the names, getting to the M’s before he slowed down his scrolling. Her eyes were on the names as he went, and he stopped when he hit the Moore section. There were about fifty names, and Lisa turned her face into his chest as he stopped on the name she was looking for, making sure it was who they wanted. 

“I’m sorry Lisa…” He whispered, rubbing against her back again. 

“It’s not fair…” She whispered, her face pressed against her chest, giving a stifled sob. 

“I know sweetheart, none of this is fair.” He said, rubbing his hand over her hair. 

“When was I scheduled for Connecticut?” She asked, turning her head to the side to look at the driver’s license file they had used for Randy’s photo. 

“Three days from now. You were scheduled to be here for the next two days, without using your powers.” Steve checked the schedule and sighed softly. “You want to go today don’t you?”

“I have to.”

“You’re going to work yourself to exhaustion.” He said, stepping back from her, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her. He could see the bags under her eyes, more than just how she had cried just now. 

“Then that’s what I’ll do. But I’m going today. FRIDAY! Reschedule Connecticut, tell them I’m coming today.” She called out the AI, her eyes on Steve, determined to go through with it.

“Of course Sordes.” The female AI called back. “I will inform them.” Lisa turned to go get ready, and Steve let her go. His hands slid down her arms, before her hands left his. He couldn’t let her go alone, she looked like she was one bad phrase away from breaking down. 

He turned to the schedule for the day and sighed softly. Natasha was in a meeting, Rhodes was off helping with relief efforts in another location, and Banner had disappeared to try and figure out his shit with the Hulk. Tony wouldn’t help them, he knew. It was going to be a very long time before Tony wanted anything to do with them. He had meetings scheduled as well, but Lisa needed him. She needed the support, just like he had when they had watched Bucky turn to ash. When they had found out Sam had also been snapped. She had been there for him, he had to do the same. 

He made quick work to reschedule his meetings, before he ran for his own uniform and got changed. Steve made it to the quinjet before she did, waiting outside of it for her. 

“You better not be here to stop me Steve.” She said as she strode onto the quinjet past him. He was up next to her in a moment, settling into the copilot’s seat. 

“No, I’m going with you. You don’t have to face this alone anymore then I did.” She gripped the controls before she turned watery eyes towards him. 

“He was the last piece to my past. The only person I still talked to from my life before the Avengers. You know Natasha managed to get a hold of him for my birthday but he couldn’t make it out to the party? He had just gotten married… had a kid on the way. They’re left without him. I have to go see them today too… And now… I don’t even have that opening to go see them, that excuse to meet them.” She got them off the ground, flying towards the capital city in Connecticut. 

“I can fly if you want…” 

“I need to focus on something that isn’t just my thoughts.” She replied. For a moment there was silence. “But thank you for offering. I know you didn’t have to come with me for this.” She said softly, watching the skies. 

Steve kept up some idle chatter with her, trying to help her keep her mind off of it. When she landed in the airport, they were met by the officials and given access to a vehicle for their driving needs. She let him drive this time, and held onto his hand as they arrived at the first location. Hartford was the capital city, so she got the memorial area set up there, before her and Steve moved to the next location. She visited every major city with him in tow. It was late by the time they hit New Haven, and Lisa just didn’t have the strength left. Steve organized a place for them to stay, and got Lisa to eat something even though she said she wasn’t hungry. 

In the morning, with dew still on the grass, she was suited up and headed to where New Haven wanted their memorial. She looked over the area, and sighed softly. She knelt down, her hands running through the grass as she focused, pulling all the rock into solid memorial blocks. There were sixteen of these blocks and she looked at the teams that would be carving names into them. “There you go. You have your lists right?” She asked. They nodded to her, before they stepped up and started to work. Steve stepped up and put his arm around her shoulders, leaning over and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

“Lisa Leonard?” The pair turned to look at a red haired woman that stood behind them, a young child next to her. 

“Y-yes? How can I help you?”

“I’m Andi Moore. Randy told me about you… I had no way to contact you when it happened to tell you myself.” She said sadly. “I’m so sorry.” 

The young boy looked up at Lisa and Steve, before he tugged on his mother’s hand. “Mamma... Isn’t that Sorda and Captain America?” He whispered up at her. Andi crouched down and picked him up, holding him against her hip. 

“Yes sweetheart, that’s Sordes and Captain America.” She said, before she turned a sad smile to the pair. “Would you like to come to the house for lunch?”

Lisa glanced at Steve who nodded. “We’d love to.” He said before he smiled at the younger boy. “Would you like to ride on my shoulders?” He asked before the boy was nodding emphatically, reaching out for Steve and leaning away from his mom. Steve stepped up and put the boy up on his shoulders, holding onto his feet. He was laughing, and Lisa smiled watching him carry the kid up on his shoulders. 

“My name is Brody! Can I tell my friends that I met you?” The boy asked, as he leaned forward a little bit to look at Steve’s face. 

Lisa gave a small noise of surprise when Andi hugged her tight. She hugged her back, and kept her arm around her waist as they walked towards her house. Andi let them in, and Steve ducked into the house with the kid still on his shoulders, jabbering away about how much he thought Steve was the best hero. Once they were in the house, Brody demanded that he show Steve his collection. Steve looked at Lisa who nodded that she would be okay before she moved with Andi into the kitchen. 

Steve pulled Brody off his shoulders before he followed the boy up to be shown the collection. Lisa watched after Steve for a moment, before she turned her attention back to Andi. “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner Andi… All I have are excuses.” 

Andi turned to look at Lisa and shook her head. “No, don’t feel sorry for that. You know at first I didn’t believe Randy when he told me he knew you? Seemed so far fetched. And people always claim to have met the Avengers. But he showed me photos of the two of you together… He was so proud of you, you know that? And I’m sorry that you’re not Brody’s favorite superhero. He’s at the age where girls are icky.” She laughed softly. 

“It’s okay I don’t blame him. I’m guessing his favorite is Steve?” 

“Can’t get more patriotic than Captain America.” Andi grinned as she got Lisa to sit down in the little breakfast nook she had. “I’ll be right back.” She had set a glass of water down in front of Lisa, before she bustled out of the room. Lisa looked around the homey kitchen, seeing the life that Randy had made here with Andi. When Andi arrived back she was carrying a photo album with her. 

“He wanted you to be there. But knew that he couldn’t ask you to come when you were on the run.” She said as she turned the album towards her. “But we made sure that you were there anyway.” Andi was grinning as she gestured for Lisa to open it. 

Lisa’s eyebrow furrowed before she opened it, and opened her mouth in a small oh of surprise. In the photos where it had their bridal party, there was a chair with a photo of her on it. She flipped through the album, and reached out for Andi’s hand. “This...This is so lovely Andi… Thank you for including me in your day for this.” She looked up at her and smiled. 

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Just because the world thought that you were rogues didn’t mean that we did. We knew that you wouldn’t have done what you did without cause.” Andi smiled at Lisa, who looked at her with a sad smile. 

Lisa felt tears come to her eyes, and she wiped them away when she heard footsteps coming back down. 

“Mamma, I’m hungry! Can we have hotdogs?” Brody asked, as he came bounding up, tugging Steve after him. Lisa looked up at Steve with a small smile, as Andi turned to her son and started getting food ready for him, as well as the guests she had in the house. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, as he put his arm around Lisa.

“Yeah… Take a look, I got to go to the wedding and I wasn’t even there.” She turned the album towards him, pointing out what they had done. Steve flipped through the photos and smiled. 

“That’s lovely. I wish you could have gone.” He said softly, leaning his head against hers. 

“The dates… I was laid up in bed with that gunshot wound. I wouldn’t have been able to go anyway.” She said, running her fingers over the happy couple that Andi and Randy made. “How was the collection?” 

Steve chuckled lightly. “There was a lot of me. Some of the others. He really liked Ironman and Thor as well.” Lisa laughed softly. “He did have one poster of you, on the back of his door. Said his dad was your biggest fan.” 

“Randy was my biggest fan.” She said as she looked down at the album. 

“Mamma, can I call her that thing we talked about?” They heard Brody ask from his spot where he was sitting in the breakfast nook with Steve and Lisa. 

“As long as you ask permission.” Andi called back. 

Lisa looked confused before she looked at Brody who was looking a little nervous. “Sorda...uhmm...Sord-es.” He corrected himself, and looked at Steve who gave him a smile for his proper pronunciation. “Can I call you Aunt Lisa?” Brody fidgeted with his hands. 

Lisa froze before she nodded with a wide smile. “Of course you can. I’d like that a lot. But you understand that whenever you talk about me to your friends you have to use my superhero name right?” Brody nodded vigorously.

“I understand!” Lisa smiled at him, and held her hand out for a high five that she got immediately. 

Steve and Lisa spent the afternoon with Andi and Brody, who was more than happy to tell her about their lives. Lisa and Steve even posed with Brody for a photo that he could share with his friends to prove that he had met them, before they had to take their leave. Lisa promised to keep in touch with Andi and Brody, before her and Steve had to go, getting back to Hartford’s airport where they had stashed the quinjet before they were back in the air and headed back for the compound. 

“Thank you Steve… For coming with me.” She said softly. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We’re in this together Lisa, thick and thin. No matter what it is.” He replied with a smile as he flew them home.


	29. The first mission after the Snap

Lisa agreed to take the next week off after all the efforts she had put in over the last month of time, especially with the excessive use of her powers. However, Steve couldn’t take the time with her. So she took the chance to go back to Connecticut, where she could visit her parent’s grave. But this time, she just took her bike, with nothing more than a pannier filled with clothes and a soundtrack for her travels. She enjoyed the time alone, staying at motels, not pushing herself to get there and get back. 

Lisa received updates from Steve or FRIDAY as often as they had them for her, but she knew that Steve was keeping her out of the loop for a while, so that she had time to relax. When she arrived at the cemetery, she stopped for a while, looking at the headstones and the grounds. Getting off her bike, she walked forward to the little plots in the back, pulling out the flowers she had stashed in her jacket. 

Cleaning the weeds out from the area by hand, she put the flowers into the vase between the two headstones, before she sat down on the grass. She looked at both of them, her knees drawn up and her chin resting on her forearms. Normally words came easily to her here, but this time they were stuck in her throat. 

“Hey… A lot has happened in the nearly 5 years since I last managed to come here… I think you’d be proud of me… I know Randy was. I became an honest to god Avenger mom and dad. Codename and everything.” She shifted, leaning against her helmet as she looked at the headstones. “And it’s felt pretty good all things considered. Found someone I fell in love with, I think you’d both approve of him. He’s a little old fashioned sometimes, but… He’s the realest man I’ve ever known. I miss talking with both of you so much. Knowing that you were just a phone call away when things got to be too much… I miss that. I miss it so much.” She whispered, her voice wavering slightly. She paused, drawing in a breath, trying to keep herself under control. 

“I love him though. God, I love him so much. He acts like dad sometimes… and it’s endearing and I know what you saw in dad now mom. You know… it’s hard to believe that Captain America himself wants me… and loves me so much. He was going to give up his freedom just to get me help. Thank god for Princess Shuri… OH! And I know royalty! Who would have thought that I’d be an Avenger when I started showing my abilities. I mean you guys did, but I didn’t believe it. I’m so glad I was wrong.” 

The wind blew softly, and she turned her face up to the sun, letting it wash over her. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but it brought her a strange sort of comfort. Hugged by two people who had loved her above all else, and reminding her that she still had someone out there that loved her unconditionally. 

Her peace was interrupted by the sounds of powered thrusters. She grabbed a hold of her helmet, pulling it on, and rolled over, hiding behind one of the headstones. 

“Lisa?” Rhodes called out, as his face plate opened up. “We’ve got a problem, and we need you.” 

Lisa stood up, pulling her helmet off again. “Damn it Rhodey, you scared the living shit outta me.” 

“Sorry Lisa. Didn’t mean to. Guess all those years on the run did wonders for your reaction speed.” He stepped forward until he was standing next to her. “How soon can you get back to the compound?” 

“One day, but I’d be exhausted when I got in, and it would be near midnight.” She replied as she reached out and laid a hand against her father’s headstone before she gently touched her mother’s. 

“I’ll let them know. You should get a move on, sorry to cut your break short.” 

“It’s okay. Avengers don’t get breaks.” She smiled up at him for a moment, before she pulled her helmet on her head again, and walked towards her bike. 

Rhodes walked next to her, waiting until she was on her bike again. “Want some company?”

“I won’t say no to some.” She replied, as she kick started her bike. 

* * *

Lisa was right. It was about midnight when they got back to the compound, and Lisa rode right into the garage with Rhodes next to her, parking as he got out of his suit. They walked in together, heading right for the meeting room. Lisa sat down at the table pulling out the sandwich that her and Rhodes had picked up on their way.

They were halfway through their meal when Natasha and Steve arrived, Natasha starting to set up the information while Steve sat down next to Lisa. “Sorry you didn’t have your full week Lisa.” He said softly to her, as he pressed a kiss to her temple. 

“It’s okay. I was gonna be back early anyway.” She replied through a mouthful of food. 

For the next couple hours, they talked about a series of bank robberies that the cops were unable to handle. Something about alien tech being used, and they couldn’t fight back against it. Lisa picked up her drink and moved over to the map, connecting the dots. “They’re headed west. So what’s the next major bank in that direction?” She asked over her shoulder as the areas started to light up with possible locations. 

She stepped back, and regarded it again, before Rhodes spoke up. “We don’t have enough people here to protect all of them.” 

“No, we’re going to have to catch them in the act.” Steve watched the map. “Can we get access to all the bank’s security systems?” 

Natasha nodded and put the request out to the local police department for the permission before she looked at the map again. Lisa stepped up and expanded the target area before she looked at the area again. She highlights 4 areas, forming a diamond between all of them. “These four locations put us within good distance of all locations. One in each location while the others move in to assist as needed.” Lisa nodded as she spoke as the others agreed. 

“That takes care of what we can handle tonight. Get some rest guys, we’ll be flying out in the evening.” Steve stood up and held his hand out to Lisa who took it and followed him back to their room. She toed off her boots before she fell face first onto the bed, giving a small groan. Steve sat down on the bed next to her, and rubbed her back gently. 

“How was your trip sweetheart?” He asked. 

She rolled over and looked up at him. “It was good. Music, bike, and an open road was nice. Cleaned up mom and dad’s graves, placed flowers, talked to them. Then Rhodey scared the hell outta me when he arrived. I’m still twitchy from those years we were running. But it was a good ride back to you.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back, leaning down to kiss her. 

Lisa sat up as he pulled back. “Okay, I’m gonna get into pajamas and sleep. You joining me?” She asked.

“Yes.” Steve got up before he got changed and laid down in the bed, with her joining him quickly after. She curled up against him, and both were asleep quickly. 

After waking up, their afternoon was filled with getting their gear together and then flying out to the next city to be hit. They dropped Lisa off in her location and moved to get the others in position. She looked like a high society woman out on the town with a jacket on to cover her uniform. She seated herself outside of a small cafe, and blended in as she listened to her comm unit from the local police department giving them updates. 

She set up a small laptop, looking like she was checking the news while she was tracking the banks in her area. 

“Anything yet?” Natasha’s voice came through their comms. 

Negatives came through from all of them before they all settled in to wait. An hour passed without a move, and Lisa leaned forward a little bit more. “We need to shift our positions slightly. They may be onto us.” She said softly into her comm unit. 

“What do you see Sordes?” Steve’s voice had a thread of worry to it. 

“Nothing, and that’s what’s got me concerned. They’re usually smash and grab. At this time. So unless they’re running late… they know we’re here.” Lisa replied as she looked at her screen. As she got up, four places lit up at the same time, all within reach of only one of them. 

“They split their targets, hitting more than one at a time!” Rhodes swore before they were all taking off towards their designated target. 

“Subdue, no lethal.” Steve ordered as Lisa tore her jacket off and ripped the dress from over her uniform. She took off towards her target, feet pounding against the pavement. Striding into the bank, she made her way over the broken glass and towards the back of the bank. She could hear them talking about what they were going to do with all that money before she smirked as she leaned against the open bank door. “Well well well. Everything goes to hell, and you still turn to crime. Come on boys, you’re better than that.” She spoke, which made them stop and turn to her. 

They brought their guns up, and she slapped her hand against the vault wall, her powers contorting the steel in the vault until she had them properly restrained. They tried to shoot her, but the steel was used as a barrier to protect her. She took her time, properly restraining them before she fixed the vault back the way it was, and dragged all their sorry asses out of the vault. The Police were waiting at her location to take them in, before she radioed into the others for who needed help. The police were rounding up the alien tech weapons, and they promised that once they were logged, they would turn them over to the Avengers. 

Both Natasha and Rhodes reported no issues, but all they had from Steve was sounds of fighting. Lisa glanced at one of the officers who nodded, before she slid into the passenger seat and he drove her to the other robbery still in progress. She didn’t wait for him to stop before she was rolling out of the car and running, through the bank that Steve had been at, before she was using her fists as she caught the guy going for Steve’s back. 

“What’s the hold up here Cap?” 

“There were 10 combatants. Not trying to kill them, have to play it more carefully.” He replied as he spun around and sent another flying. It took fifteen minutes of practiced and careful hand to hand before they managed to subdue their opponents. She helped Steve zip tie their hands before they dragged these men out of the vaults, with their weapons, and set them out for the cops to pick up. 

“It’s good to see that you’re still up to par with that hand to hand training.” he glanced down at her, before he was all business with the cops. “Did we get them all?”

“Yes Captain. We got them all. Thanks to you and your team.” The officer nodded to them as Natasha and Rhodes arrived. 

“Do you need us to give any statements officer?”

“Not at all Sordes. Thank you for your assistance, we can take it from here.” Lisa nodded as the four of them turned from the officers and moved to where they had parked their quinjet. Rhodes held out the dress and jacket to Lisa who took it with a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem. One of the officers handed it over to me, and I figured I’d return it.” He was out of his suit once they were on the quinjet and relaxed back into one of the seats as Natasha got them up into the air. 

“Good job everyone. Real good. Glad nothing went off plan more than we could handle.” Steve said as he sat down. Lisa sat down next to him with a first aid kit, cleaning the deeper cut over his eye. He hissed and jerked away from the cleaning solution. She chuckled softly before she gently turned his face back to her.

“Don’t be a baby. Just cause you're immune to disease doesn’t mean you’re safe from infection.” She said, as she was dabbing at the cut again to clean it, before she opened a butterfly bandage. Squeezing the cut closed, she put the bandage in place before getting a second one in place. Lisa gave a smile at him, before she settled back into the seat. She put her hand out on her thigh before Steve’s hand was in her, their fingers laced together. 

“Thank you sweetheart.” He said as he leaned down to kiss her temple.


	30. Running into the Ronin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is a bit more... harsh, and is set up for some angst that's coming.

With only four of them left on the Avengers team, they were spread thin helping the world in whatever capacity they needed them in. There were only so many things that they could do, and even though the four of them that remained were close to each other, and good friends, there was heavy strain on them as a unit. 

They had worked hard, and there were reports coming in of brutal murders of known criminal organizations that they were being asked to handle, and deal with. But they couldn’t track the person or persons doing this, since he was gone long before they arrived, without no way to track where they’d go next.

Lisa had been sent to Shanghai, word that there were places that needed her area of expertise with building. She was working with local construction teams, having someone translate for her, since she didn’t speak the local dialects, and worked with them to get the skeletal base of their buildings set up as well as any stone work they needed before she heard an explosion off in another direction, and gun fire following it. 

“Sordes, there are reports of a gang turf war breaking out. Shall we notify the local PD that you’re responding?” FRIDAY asked. 

Lisa looked in the direction before nodding. “Alert them that I’ll be on the scene. Give them my ETA, 5 minutes.” 

“Shall I alert the other Avengers?” Lisa kept running but thought about her reply. 

“No. I can handle a simple gang turf war.” Lisa ran through the streets. “Notify local EMS, they’ll want to get on scene as soon as I have it secure.” Her mask was properly in place, and she casted her eyes left and right, looking for her target location. A body hit the wall in front of her and didn’t move. She looked at it curiously, checking the man for a pulse and not finding one. Her eyes scanned again before she moved in the direction that the body had come from. Another fell from a window and she pressed herself flat against the wall as she looked up. There was a dark figure on the roof that looked down at her before disappearing again. 

Her eyes narrowed before she was walking up the stone wall and was up on the roof. “Hey! Stop!” She called out to the figure before he went over the side. His back was to her, one that looked familiar to her. 

“Do you speak english?” She called out, walking forward cautiously. She didn’t have much to protect herself up here, but it would be better than nothing. 

The voice that replied to her was speaking in Mandarin, which she didn’t understand, but the tone, the voice itself was recognizable and only because she had spent a month next to him on the Raft. 

“Barton?”

The figure turned to her and it didn’t even look like him anymore. His eyes were cold, none of that warmth that had come from the dad like Avenger. She swallowed and stopped her approach. His voice was scratchy as he spoke to her. “Well if it isn’t Sordes. Looks like you got out of this scott free didn’t you? Still have your precious Captain?”

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him. He was advancing on her, but she was holding her ground. 

“I didn’t get out of this scott free Clint.” 

“No. I’m not Clint, I’m not Hawkeye. I’m the fucking Ronin and I will remove every single blight left in this world.” He sneered from behind his mask. “But you didn’t lose Steve did you? No, you still have your optimistic Captain America to follow, just like you always have. His perfect little yes woman, just like a yapping sycophant. Does he tell you when you need to eat and sleep as well? You’re not a soldier, or a spy Lisa. You’re just a fucking over paid construction worker.” 

Lisa’s eyes widened as he got close enough to her that he could strike her. She stepped back to maintain distance. “Clint, you have to stop this. Whatever this is, it’s gotta stop. We can get you help!” 

“No. I’m way past help. Who’s going to stop me? You? You couldn’t stop Thanos, nor could you stop Rhodes or Stark during our conflict. What do you think you’re going to do to me Lisa?” He snarled before he ran at her. Lisa dropped back and slammed her hands on the roof top before she sent him flying over her and off the building. She rolled over and ran to the edge, sliding down the side of the building until she hit the ground. 

“Come on Clint, whatever it is, we can figure it out!” Lisa called out to the empty alleyway. Instincts that Steve had trained into her over years of repetition were the only thing that saved her life as she twisted away from the blade that was coming for her neck. “Are you seriously trying to kill me!?” she snarled before she grabbed for him. But he was already bouncing up off the walls, and got himself on her shoulders. 

She struggled against his hold, giving a frustrated scream before she knocked him into the wall, and he slid down a little more before he caught hold of her hands and had them zip tied together before she could stop him. She went to create a spike to free herself, and slid her leg out too far. He took advantage of that moment of misjudgement, and slammed his foot onto her exposed leg. Lisa screamed in pain, feeling her shin break. The only thing that stopped her bone from showing through was her uniform. She went to her knees, thrown off balance by the searing pain in her leg. 

But he didn’t stop there. He was going to make sure she was out for a very long time, and much more wary of him in the coming time. He got off of her, and she collapsed to the ground, leaning back against the wall as she gripped her thigh, even though it was her shin that was currently broken. 

“Clint… stop, please don’t….” She begged softly. 

Clint grabbed a hold of her head as he slammed it back, making her eyes scrunch up in pain as he picked up a pipe from the men he had killed earlier. “No. Give the rest my regards will you?” He sneered, before he brought the pipe down with just enough force to break her thigh bones as well as her shin. The pain was blinding white, and it hurt so much that she couldn’t even articulate words to get FRIDAY to call for help. She reached up, pulling her mask down and wailed, every movement caused her more pain, and it never let up. 

The voice was far away, as Lisa slumped over, crying since every movement was agony. “I’ve alerted the boss. He’ll be here soon.” 

Lisa didn’t know who spoke, only that as soon as EMS arrived so did someone else. She couldn’t focus, just saw a large red blur. Heard a familiar voice through the ringing in her ears, and tried to focus on it. Her body was shutting down to help her heal and the last thing she remembered seeing was a blurry red and gold face plate. 

When she came to, it was in a bed and she startled awake before covering her mouth to stifle the scream that crawled it’s way from her throat. The door was thrown open immediately, and Tony and Pepper rushed in. “Hey, relax Lisa, calm down. You’ve been through hell.” Tony said as he got her to lay back. Tears were streaming down Lisa’s face as she laid back and tried not to scream again. 

Pepper handed Tony a syringe, and he was quick to find the vein in Lisa’s arm, giving her a quick dose of morphine. “What the hell were you doing in Shanghai?” Tony asked as Lisa started to relax back into the sheets of the bed. 

“Avengers’ stuff. Rebuilding…” she slurred a little bit. 

“Boss, she’s suffering from a concussion as well as the broken bones in her leg. And she’s low on blood from her broken shin breaking the skin.” An AI’s voice filtered to them, and Pepper sat down next to Lisa, taking her hand softly in her own. Her hand was soft, such a stark contrast to the roughness of Lisa’s hand, and she looked at them with a slow and curious look. She glanced up at the still open door, seeing a small child crawling past.

She heard Tony talking to the AI about how soon he was going to be able to set the bones in her leg and get the cast on to keep her still but she filtered it out for how Pepper held her hand instead. 

Her voice was scratchy from how she had abused it earlier. “Who...?” She asked, turning bleary eyes up to Pepper. The red head looked from the door back to Lisa and smiled at her, reaching up to cup her cheek.

“Our daughter Morgan. She’s about 2 now.” 

Lisa nodded, but felt like she was wading through water before she smiled. “That...is...really… nice…” She swallowed before she looked over at Tony. “Why…?”

Tony stopped his conversation before he looked down at her. “Because FRIDAY told me you needed help. You told her not to call the others, and she’s not capable of overriding your orders. So she activated the emergency protocol, which calls me. I didn’t think anyone would have to use it.” 

“Oh… Did you...tell Steve?” She whispered. 

“No. I called Rhodey. He’s on his way to get you.” 

Tears fell down Lisa’s cheeks. “Steve’s… going… to be… so mad…” She whimpered. 

Lisa was in and out of consciousness and it was one of those out times where Tony worked together with his AI to set her leg and get it into a cast that looked a lot like what Rhodes wore around his hips to help him walk. Rhodes arrived to pick her up and hugged Tony tight, before giving Pepper the same attention, but not nearly as hard. 

“Thank you Tony… We didn’t know what had happened to her. EMS said that someone had taken her, but wouldn’t tell us who.” Rhodes put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Yeah. I paid them not to. I don’t want to be involved. Only was because FRIDAY had to activate the emergency protocol to save her.” Tony replied before he led Rhodes into the room. “Take her to a hospital. I’m 99% sure I did it right, but I’d rather you get her checked. She’s suffering from a concussion as well, but I can’t do anything for that. Whoever did this, did a number on her.” 

Rhodes saw Lisa on the bed, her head turned away from the door and moved to the side of the bed. “Hey Lisa.” 

She struggled to turn her head and smiled at him a little loopy. “Hey Rhodey…” 

He frowned before he glanced at Tony. “What did you give her?”

“Morphine. Had to. She was screaming as soon as she woke up.” Tony leaned in the doorway. 

“Fair enough. I’ll take it from here. Thanks again Tony. Even if Steve won’t contact you to say it, he’ll be happy and very grateful you saved her.” Rhodes turned back to Lisa, warning her he was going to move her before he had her up in his arms, and carried her towards the car he had. He set her down before he slid the seat all the way back, and gently placed her feet inside. Lisa waved to Pepper and Tony, but kept her lips pressed tight together so that she didn’t scream when he rearranged her. Even with the morphine it was painful. 

Rhodes drove them back to the compound, immediately alerting the medical team there that he needed them to be ready to receive Lisa and included her conditions to them. Once they arrived, she was transferred to a gurney and wheeled off. Tony had done as good a job as he thought he had, and all they did was regulate the dosage of morphine that Lisa was getting so that she was able to move without being entirely out of it.

It took two days before she was able to start moving mostly under her own cognition. She was on her crutches, keeping as much weight off her leg as possible on her way to the common room when she rounded the corner to see Steve coming right for her. He was still in his uniform, so he must have just gotten back from his mission. She swallowed before giving him a small pained smile. “Hey…” 

His hands were around her cheeks and she hissed softly as he moved her head too fast for her concussion. “Steve, slow down… please…” She whispered, eyes clenched shut. His hands didn’t leave her face, but he stopped moving her. 

“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay…” 

“I’d probably have lied and said I was fine anyway.” she gave a shaky breath as she pressed her face into his chest and he held her. She could feel the tension in his body underneath her cheek and she swallowed thickly around the knot in her throat. 

“He didn’t even hesitate Steve… He shattered my leg, gave me a concussion, without even blinking. No remorse…I thought he was going to kill me...” she whispered.

“Who?”

“Clint Barton.” 

* * *

The team were together again for the first time in almost half a year, almost 2 years after the snap happened. Going over their tasks, and missions, it was a somber meeting, and they were all seated or lying down in the common room as they talked. Lisa’s leg was in the cast Tony had given her, and set up on the coffee table as she laid on the couch, tossing a ball up in the air and catching it. Her vision wasn’t in the best of condition and the medical team that had helped her had told her to keep her eye on the ball so that she could try and realign her vision. 

“You’re last up Lisa. What the hell happened? The full story.” Steve asked as he leaned forward in his chair, arms on his knees as he watched her fumble the ball before she just let her arms fall on her stomach. The other looked over to give her their full attention since they too were curious.

“You’re not gonna like the answer.” She said softly. 

“We gotta know.” Rhodes sipped on his drink before watching her struggle to sit up, and sat with her hands in her lap. 

“I did my job. Helped the team in Shanghai get their buildings back up, you know like I’m supposed to. Then I get reports of a gang turf war that was breaking out. Nothing out of the realm for us to deal with, since we’ve done it before. Only… it wasn’t a turf war. It was Barton. Except he’s not the Barton we knew. He didn’t even hesitate to shatter my fucking leg. Didn’t kill me, so small mercies I guess, but I’m out of commission for at least six months because of it. All he had to say before he did it was he wasn’t Hawkeye anymore. And he wasn’t going to stop. Oh and that he sends his regards.” She kept what he had said specifically to her to herself. There was no need to tell anyone. Lisa’s face scrunched up in pain before she leaned forward to try and get a hold of the meds canister that held her pain medication. They had been in her reach when she had been laying down, but now they were just out of reach of her fingers. 

Steve stood up and handed them to her, watching her crack open the container, before she downed two of them without water. 

“You weren’t supposed to be finding Barton.” Natasha said as she watched Lisa. Steve moved to sit next to his partner, putting his arm around her shoulders and letting her lean against him. 

“You think I don’t fucking know that? He was in the same area I was. I was there responding to a fallout between two gangs in Shanghai, and he was there, dealing with  _ them. _ ” She groaned a little bit as the meds started to take effect. 

“You didn’t try to stop him did you?” Rhodes asked, looking at her and getting her glare, before putting his hands up and giving a small roll of his eyes. “That was a stupid question, of course you tried to stop him.”

“You’re lucky you got out alive.” Natasha said as she got up to pace. 

“No, Nat, I just let him kick the shit out of me for fun. Because I like knowing that I have to go through physical therapy for my fucking leg, and the fact that I’m in the cast for another three weeks. But yeah, I’m lucky I got out alive. F-” Whatever Lisa was going to keep tirading on was stopped by Steve’s hand over her mouth. 

“Lay off guys. She did what we’ve trained her to do, what any of us would have done. We all have our weaknesses. Barton knows them, and used hers against her.” Steve glared at Natasha and Rhodes who both nodded. 

Steve glanced down at her and she gave a nod before she relaxed back against him. “I think it’s time we all took a break. We’ve all been officially debriefed, so I think it’s time for us to just go relax.” Steve took his hand off her mouth and gently rubbed her upper arm. 

“I’m gonna be loopy on those meds in about…” Lisa glanced at her wrist for her watch before she spoke again. “2 minutes. So whatever we’re going to do can’t be recorded. And I’m not to be held responsible for whatever I say.” 

The three in the room laughed softly and most of the tension in the room from her revelation on who had put her in the cast dissolved. Instead, it turned to what they all wanted to do for the holidays. Given that Christmas was coming, and the group would be spending it together, Lisa suggested a secret Santa, since it was just the four of them. Everyone agreed to it, but agreed to hammer out the details the next day before Lisa took her morning pain meds for her leg so that she would remember all the details. 

There was plenty of laughter to be had as Lisa started to say things that just didn’t make any sense, or she was just straight slurring her words. Once she started to nod off, Steve picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, getting her comfortable before he went back out to join them.


	31. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No relationship is perfect. Even Lisa and Steve feel strain and fight. They both say things they don't mean.

The little secret Santa idea went off well. Lisa wound up pulling Rhodes’ name and got him a few metal figures that he had to assemble himself, since she figured he’d like the distraction. Natasha had gotten Lisa, and had gotten her a replacement mask as well as a pair of new bracers. Given what had happened, Natasha had made sure the bracers had an activatable tracking beacon for her in case something went wrong again so that they could get to her. Lisa could see the apology in the gift, as if she had to make up for what Barton had done. 

Lisa was seated on the floor of the common room as they all opened presents, and handed one up to Steve that was from Andi and Brody. She leaned against the edge of his chair as he opened it. It was a build-a-bear that they had gotten done up for him in a cute little military uniform. Steve stared at it for a moment before he smiled softly, and reached for another present, handing it down to Lisa. 

This was also a gift from Andi and Brody, and Lisa tore it open, revealing a picture frame that held four photos. The photo of her and Steve with Brody that they had taken months ago, a picture of her and Randy when they were celebrating breaking their million dollar profit goal, a picture of Andi, Randy and the photo of Lisa from the wedding, and the fourth photo was a photo from a newspaper article of her and Steve in their uniforms, back to back and fighting to save lives. Lisa smiled widely before she held it up to Steve to look at. The picture frame was passed around, everyone smiling over the photos, before it was handed back to her. 

Rhodes gave Lisa a journal, something to write her problems down in if she needed to let it out but didn’t want to talk about it with anyone. Steve had gone out of his way, gifting Lisa new clothes for her to wear out when they were on vacation, if they ever got to have one, and Natasha had found the best physical therapist in the country that would come work with Lisa for 6 sessions to start once she was up to it and the cast was off. 

Lisa had gotten them all gifts as well, a few cheesy gifts for Steve, like a Captain America tie she had found at a department store before her run in with Barton, and a few other things for Steve, including a brand new chess set for them to be able to play. Each piece was hand blown glass, and the board hand made. The pieces fit inside the board and it could be closed up for storage. 

For Natasha, she had managed to get a few days at a spa, and for Rhodes, in addition to her secret Santa gift, she had managed to procure him some upgrades for his suit.

The night was wrapping up, and Lisa smirked a little bit, as she got to her feet with a groan, and pulled her crutches under her arms, limping her way over to the wall. She pressed a button on the wall, revealing a fireplace. It wasn’t real, but it was the best they were going to get. She turned back to Steve, who looked absolutely ridiculous in his ugly christmas sweater, and smiled at him. “I remembered. It’s your favorite holiday.” He smiled back at her, and hauled one of the couches over in front of the fire, before he sat down. She limped over, as Natasha and Rhodes brought chairs over as well. Lisa sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh before she set her crutches on the ground and laid down on the couch so that her head would be in his lap. 

The four of them talked about anything that came to mind. They enjoyed the quiet conversation, and Lisa drifted off with Steve running his hands through her hair, and Barton’s words, mocking her. 

_ Does he tell you when you need to eat and sleep as well? _

* * *

New Years came and went without fanfare. It was their first New Year together since the snap, and no one felt much like celebrating. Even if it was one of Lisa’s favorite holiday, no one wanted to celebrate, though Steve did ask her if she wanted to spend time with him, get dressed up like they were going out to a Stark party and just have a party for them. Her meds were hitting her rather hard that day, and she told him she’d rather just rest. 

Her cast was off for necessary use a week after New Year’s, and she was still using the crutches to get around. Natasha and Rhodes were off on missions and Steve was preparing for his next one. Lisa met with the physical therapist, and worked with him for her first session. Once she was done, Steve was standing there at the door, like he was waiting for her. She took the crutches from the therapist before she limped over to him. 

“Ready to go?” she asked as she tried to stand up straight. She had to lean against the wall a little bit but she managed to get to her full height. 

“Yup. Wheels up in twenty. Wanted to give you a kiss before I headed out.” He said softly as he leaned down and kissed her, soft and slow. 

_ You’re an overpaid construction worker. _

She pulled back from the kiss and gave him a forced smile. “Come home safe.” 

_ His perfect little yes woman, just like a yapping sycophant... _

His gaze searched her face, seeing the tightness in her eyes, around her mouth, before he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a little pain. I’ll see you when you get back. Hopefully without the crutches.” She lied, shifting to try and sell it. She wasn’t sure he bought it, but he nodded anyway and turned to go. 

“I love you Steve.” She called after him. 

He turned and continued to walk backwards. “I love you too Lisa.” He turned back around and was gone. She was alone at the compound again. 

She did her job, worked and managed to keep on top of her exercises. It didn’t stop her from thinking about how right Barton had been. How all she had done was follow Steve from day one. Had she fooled herself into thinking that she was following her own code? Had she really gotten out as free as she had thought? Was she guilty of just ignoring her own needs in a desperate need to have approval from someone she loved? 

She used the journal Rhodes had given her, but it didn’t help her any. She was still torn apart by the idea that Steve was just molding her into a woman who followed him without question.

By the time Rhodes and Natasha returned, two months after they left, Lisa was mostly mobile, with just a few twinges, as she walked. Steve was only a week behind them after they arrived back. 

Lisa listened to the reports, and then the team turned towards planning their next move. Natasha and Rhodes excused themselves to get something to eat, and Steve and Lisa remained to keep planning. 

“We can hit here, here and here.” Steve said as he looked at the map, with her sitting across from him. “Help out in these cities, keep things running smoothly.” 

“Don’t you think you’re spreading yourself and us a little thin Steve?” Lisa asked. 

“We can handle it.” 

Lisa stared at him for a moment. “We can handle it? Steve have you fucking looked in a mirrior? You’re sleeping maybe 3 hours a night, and you look like hell. And you’re the fucking super soldier. How do you think this is being handled by Rhodes, or Natasha?” She nearly snarled at him, looking at him like he had grown a second head. 

“Are we going to do this right now?” He put his papers down before he leaned forward towards her. 

“Can you think of a better time? You haven’t been back here for two fucking months Steve. I’ve been here, alone for two fucking months!” She was watching him with a gaze that spoke to her frustrations. 

“You were recovering, we couldn’t send you out!” 

“This isn’t about me! This is about US. THE TEAM.” Her voice was rising, and his was matching hers in volume. “You’re so fucking lost trying to help everyone else, you’re not watching out for those that matter the most Steve. There are only four of us left. Thor’s fucked off to New Asgard, won’t take our calls.” 

“And Banner’s off dealing with his own issues, and I’m sure you blame me for Tony not being here either don’t you!?” His face was angry but even as he said the words, he knew that he had pushed that a little too far. 

“I have never EVER blamed you for that fucking train wreck. You blamed you. Not me.” she sneered. 

“What happened to us being on the same page Lisa?” He stood up, as if standing was going to get her to comply with what he was saying. 

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” Lisa stood up as well, before she limped around to in front of him. “The same page?! Steve look at yourself. You are so fucking consumed with the idea that you have make things right that you’re erroding us. You’re stretching us so thin that we’re nearly to the fucking breaking point.” 

She had to pause, watching him. Her breath was coming in rapidly, as she waited for him to say something. Anything. 

“What else can I do? I don’t have anything else.” Steve was staring down at her. 

“You don’t have anything else?! Then what the fuck are we!? What am I to you!?” She was shaking in her anger. 

He opened his mouth to talk before she stopped him with a finger pointed at him. “You be very careful what you fucking say next Steve.” 

He watched her carefully. “I love you. We’re partners.” 

“And can you honest to god tell me that you believe that I’m enough?” Her voice was deadly soft as she watched him. 

“No. I can’t.” His voice was equally as softy and Lisa glanced behind him, seeing Natasha and Rhodes watching this happen. 

“Then why are we still together if you can’t rely on me to be enough?” There was a hiss behind Steve, that was basically begging her to stop. But she was too far gone from what Barton had said to her. “Was it because you couldn’t just rely on me to follow you like I did all those years ago? Is Barton right that you just see me as a woman who will follow you anywhere as if I had no thoughts of my own?” Tears were coming to her eyes, and she stared at him, wobbling a little bit. But she was furious. 

“I don’t have an answer for you Lisa. But it’s not because I can’t rely on you. I’m…” Steve looked torn like he didn’t know what to say here to make this right. Tensions were running high, and he wanted to diffuse the situation, but he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to. 

“I just want to do what’s best for us. For all of us.” 

“Oh my fucking god!” She whirled away from him, but the pain in her leg caused her to lose balance. She fell to the floor, with a hard gasp of pain. Steve immediately reached out to her, and she slapped his hand away from her. “I’m so tired of your optimism Steve. Your optimism took every single one of you to kill Thanos and for what? The reality that this wasn’t going to change? For the realization that I was fucking right.” She sneered. Steve recoiled like she had slapped him. “That this is it. You think you have the sole market on survivor’s guilt? We all suffer from it. The only difference is we’re willing to rely on the others. But you shoulder it yourself, without us. You’re so fucking afraid of feeling lost that you’re already lost.” 

Steve stepped back from her, and Rhodes was there to help her up. “Hey Lisa, you made your point. Relax a little bit yeah?” He said to her softly. 

“I’m done. I’m done until you figure it out Steve. You need me, you’ll know where to find me.” Lisa was leaning against Rhodes, looking at Steve, who had Natasha standing next to him. “I love you Steve, but I refuse to watch you self-destruct yourself and us with this.”


	32. Reconcile but don't excuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We hit 1K hits on this fic last night, and I'm so happy to share this with you guys! We're approaching Endgame and a whole new set of problems and drama.

Steve watched Lisa pack her bags and helped her take the bags down to the car they were letting her take to get where she wanted to go. They didn’t say anything, both hurting from what they had said to each other. Lisa set her bags into the car before she turned to look at Steve. She wanted to apologize, but this time, she had to hold her ground. She couldn’t watch him self-destruct, and she refused to be an accomplice to it. 

Steve watched her lean back against the car, and put his hands in his pockets. He moved to stand in front of her and leaned his head down until their foreheads touched. She sniffed and reached back for the door of the car. If she stayed like this any longer, she was going to stay here, and her entire outburst would have been for nothing. 

Lisa gently pushed him back before she slid into the car and pulled away, wiping her eyes as she did so. Her phone buzzed, with a text from Steve that told her he loved her. 

When she stopped, she texted him back, telling him she loved him still. She looked around, and didn’t recognize her surroundings and turned her GPS on, getting herself oriented before she drove out to New Haven. Got herself an apartment, fully furnished, and settled in. Andi and Brody arrived when she was hauling her bags up to the apartment to help her. 

Lisa got Brody set up playing on her TV before Lisa and Andi started to unpack. 

“Lisa, what happened?” Andi asked as they worked to get the bed made. 

“We had a falling out.” 

“Over what?”

“He’s suffering from survivor’s guilt, worse than a lot of us. He’s watched this all happen twice. He’s survived twice when others hadn’t. But he won’t take time to grieve. He’s just pushing and pushing and we’re spread so thin.” Lisa had to stop, before she sat down on the bed. “I didn’t think this was going to be what broke us.” She whispered the last phrase. 

“And you left him? Left them?” Andi asked as she sat next to Lisa. 

“I didn’t know what else to do… Two years Andi and we never talked about how he was feeling. We used to spend time, just the two of us. Playing Chess, talking, supporting each other. But this… this was so much worse. He was the one we all turned to for leadership. And he just kept pushing us further and further, and we all just didn’t even blink. We had to help, we were the only ones that were left.” Lisa swallowed hard before she leaned her head against Andi’s shoulder. 

“It wasn’t till I was injured and had to stay behind for months, that I realized what we were doing. We were enabling his guilt, and he was driving us to the breaking point…I didn’t handle it well. The reason I was on leave was the reason I saw it. And Ronin did exactly what he was planning on, which was tearing what was left of the Avengers apart, and I helped him do it like a puppet.” Andi’s hand ran over Lisa’s head, comforting her while she spoke. 

“You know even in the short time Randy and I were married it wasn’t perfect. We fought, argued. But after giving each other space, it worked out. Give him time. He loves you, it’s very clear, but he’ll need some time. And so do you.” Andi got Lisa up and bustled her into the kitchen, before she made all three of them lunch. 

* * *

It took two months before they heard from each other beyond their daily texts that they loved each other, and basic check ins. It left her feeling good that he still loved her, but they didn’t talk about what she said, or what had occured between them. 

She was making a simple meal, just some mac and cheese when her phone went off. She reached over to answer it, putting it on speaker. “Hello?” 

“Hey Lisa. Do you have time for me?” Steve’s voice wasn’t what she was expecting, but it still filled her with the same thrill it usually did. 

“Yes Steve, I do. You know where I am?” She asked. 

“I’m outside your apartment right now.” Lisa moved to her window, seeing him and smiled. She waved to him and he waved back.

“Come on up then.” She called out before she disconnected the call. She opened the door as he arrived and he stepped into the apartment. She sat down with her lunch as she watched him look around. 

It was an awkward five minutes of silence as they waited for the other to talk. Steve sat down across from her, and covered his mouth, giving a small sigh. 

“Can we talk about two months ago?” He asked softly. 

Lisa swallowed her mouthful and set her food to the side before she leaned back. “Of course.” She folded her hands over her stomach. “What do you want to talk about specifically Steve?”

He was quiet again before leaned forward on the table. “I like to think that I can admit when I’m wrong. You were right, I didn’t want to face the guilt I was experiencing, and you were all paying for that. I took the last two months to stay at the compound, try and get back on the level like I should have been. But I don’t know how to stop. I just want to help whoever I can.” He looked at her, waiting for her reaction. 

“Helping people isn’t the problem Steve. I love that you want to help people. But when your helping come at the cost of yourself, and us… that’s what I have a problem with.” Lisa hummed softly before she watched him. “You need to take time for you. Let yourself be lost, and let me help you bring yourself back.” 

Steve shook his head. “I don’t know how to do that. I’ve been fighting for so many years, I don’t know how to just… live.” 

“So move in here with me. Or we’ll move to Brooklyn, wherever you want. Try living a civilian life with me. Stop fighting and just focus on healing. Maybe that’s what you need Steve. Maybe you should start helping others heal instead of just trying to protect them.” She leaned forward and held her hands out to him. 

His fingers ran over her palms before he took her hands. “Okay. For you, I’ll try.” 

“Before all that, we have to get back on the level. Maybe not on the same page, but the same level.” She ran her thumbs over the back of his hands, watching him nod. “I said some things that I regret saying, and I’m so sorry.” She swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t have pulled the I told you so card. It wasn’t fair and I don’t actually believe it. I really enjoyed your optimism Steve, and I know that you had to do what you had to if there was even a chance of bringing everyone back.” 

Steve nodded before he pulled her hands up to his lips, kissing the back of her hands. “Back then, I didn’t think you were enough… But what I didn’t realize was that I was missing you even though you were right in front of me. We hadn’t had us time, just with you and me, playing chess, or relaxing doing our own thing, in over two years. I just kept pushing it off, setting it aside, thinking that everything would be the same and fine the way it was. When I took those two months alone at the compound, like you had… I realized what I was missing. And that was you. I’m sorry for leaving you like that for two years. It’s not that you weren’t enough… I wasn’t enough.” He looked back at her and she nodded. 

“I forgive you Steve, but you have to forgive yourself too. Eventually.” She said softly.

He nodded to her and got up, moving around the table to sit next to her, giving her cheek a kiss before he rested his forehead against her temple. “I forgive you for what you said… and I’ll work on it. If you’ll help me.” 

“Of course I will. That’s what partners do.” She turned her head so that their foreheads rested against each other and she breathed in, feeling better now than she had been in the last two months. Lisa wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on. Steve’s arms came around her and he held her close. 

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too Steve. So much.” She whispered. 

“What did Barton say to you? It’s been bugging me, but you never mentioned his words to you in your reports…” He asked as they moved over to the living room and settled onto the couch. 

Lisa sighed softly as she propped her leg up on the coffee table out of habit. “He lost everyone Steve. Laura, his kids… And he saw that we were all still together… Specifically you and I. Not sure if he knew we were together or not, but he knew that I followed you because our moral codes lined up. He called me a yes woman, one of your sycophants.” She looked over at Steve and looked a little upset about it. 

“You know I don’t think of you like that right?” Steve asked as he reached out to hold her hand. 

“Of course I know that. But two months alone in the compound right after he said those things to me… it didn’t help. Even if it never happened… or wasn’t intended that way, I played right into Barton’s hands. How many people are tracking him now?” She asked, lacing their fingers together. 

“Just Rhodes. Natasha is too busy keeping the world running… and I was trying to fix myself, and show you I could be the man you needed me to be.” Lisa nodded. 

“Exactly. One person. Out of four of us. And it’s the one person who won’t engage him because it would leave him horribly out matched if he took him on. I played right into Barton’s hand… And he’ll keep right on killing.” She sighed again before she tilted her head back and looked at her ceiling. “And I’ll be honest, when I looked over my own actions… I saw the truth in his words. How I followed you and defended your actions. How I just basically said yes to whatever you asked of me. Barton tainted that with his accusation when I said yes because I believed in what we were doing. Because I believed in you, in us.” She glanced over at him. 

Steve reached over and ran his hand through her hair. 

Lisa sniffed a little bit before she shifted to get close to him, resting her head against his shoulder. “I have to be honest with you Steve, because another part of what he said to me really resonated too… I nearly ran at the fight in Wakanda. Bucky talked me out of it. I saw myself as nothing more than a construction worker. He showed me I was more than that, helped me remember that I was someone important. But I lost it all again, when Barton told me I was nothing more than an overpaid construction worker.” 

Steve stared at the wall and kept petting her hair gently. “You aren’t an overpaid construction worker. You’re Sordes, Miss Lisa Leonard, an Avenger, and a hero to millions. People look up to you, want to be like you. You’ll never be something as simple as a construction worker again.” 

“Just like you’ll never be something as simple as a soldier ever again?” She asked with a small laugh. 

“Exactly.” 

* * *

It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of ground to cover between them. But they took the steps to fix it, to be better, not just for each other, but themselves as well. He didn’t shut her out, and she didn’t just let him wallow in his guilt. Lisa moved out of the apartment in New Haven, moving in with Steve to an apartment in Brooklyn, where they became the forerunners for help groups to deal with survivor’s guilt. There were still times where Steve had to go back to the compound to help Natasha and keep up to date with what was going on, but for the most part he settled into a domestic routine with Lisa. 

But it wasn’t a life. Both of them, despite having each other, were just going through the motions. As if they were waiting for the shoe to drop. It was back to the easy rhythm they had before the snap, but there was almost an underlying feeling for both of them that the world wasn’t done with them yet. It was just shy of a year past their argument and resolution.

She was sitting in her armchair dressed in lounging clothes, reading a book. It was the one Wanda had given her for her birthday all those years ago in Wakanda. Steve walked out of their bedroom, dressed in a nice suit. Lisa glanced up, marked her place and just had to stop and watch him. “Well you’re looking very put together tonight… where are you headed?” 

“I thought perhaps we could go out tonight. You and me, and a fancy restaurant.” He said as he looked over at her. 

Lisa stood up from her chair and put her bookmark in her book before she closed it and set it on the coffee table. “I think that sounds like a good idea.” she smiled and moved into their bedroom, finding the dress already laid out for her. She was quick to get changed, pulled her shoes on, and came back out. 

Steve held his arm out to her, and she put her hand in the crook of his elbow before they walked out of the apartment, heading for dinner. It was a cool day out, the sun just starting to set. She glanced around the street, seeing signs that promoted finding that special someone. Others that told people that it wasn’t too late to find true love. Steve led her to a fancy restaurant and gave his name before they were led to their table past other tables of two, populated by couples. The place was done up, everything a varying shade of red. He pushed her chair in behind her, and Lisa gave a small laugh. 

“It’s Valentine’s day isn’t it?” She asked. 

“Yes. And our first spent together, alone.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back, reaching out to hold his hand, which he was more than happy to comply with. 

Lisa thought that over before she gave another laugh. “How right you are. So what’s the plan then Steve? Surely you have a plan for today.” 

“I was thinking dinner, perhaps go to this little jazz club, dance, and go home. Does that work for you?”

Lisa nodded, and reached for her glass, sipping on it slowly before she set it back down. “That sounds perfect.” 

The night went as perfectly as Steve said it would, and they were laughing, enjoying their time together, somewhat able to forget that everything had changed. Pretend that this was just a slow Valentine’s day. Lisa danced with him, the pair spinning around, held tight to each other. Steve made sure she felt like she was his whole world and his entire focus. And she was his whole world, at least for tonight. For one night, they were able to forget that the world had gone to hell, lost in each other. As Steve and Lisa walked back to their apartment, Lisa was wrapped up in Steve’s suit jacket, and his arm was warm around her shoulders. 

Outside of the apartment was a box, and inside was a dozen roses. The note on the outside made both of them smile. 

_ To my favorite couple, _

_ Happy Valentine’s Day lovebirds. Hopefully I’ll see you both soon.  _

_ -N _

Lisa picked up the flowers, moving immediately into the kitchen to put them into a vase. She set them on the little island in their kitchen, before she looked over at Steve. “Are we still on for making Rhodey and Nat dinner in two weeks?” Lisa asked as she moved over to him. 

“Yeah, unless plans change. Come here sweetheart. You look absolutely beautiful.” He said as he wrapped his arms underneath her ass and lifted her up. She leaned down and kissed him, hands cupping his face. 

“Only matched by how handsome you are dear.” She smiled against his lips before she kissed him again. “Thank you for tonight… I enjoyed this a lot.” She whispered before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head back with a smile at him. 

“I’m glad. I couldn’t get you surprise flowers or chocolate today… because you never left the house.” He smiled up at her. 

“I got to spend the entire day with you. That was better than any flowers or chocolate, love.” She smiled back before he started to walk them into the bedroom.


	33. Hope

Two weeks later found them back at the compound with Lisa bopping around the kitchen making dinner while Natasha and Steve kept her company. A year of living together with Steve had taught her the man could not cook, and so Lisa had taken up doing most of their cooking. Music was playing softly from the common room. 

“When is Rhodey due?” She asked over her shoulder as she checked the roast beef again, before turning her attention to the stuff she had on the go on the stove. 

“Twenty minutes out he says.” Natasha responded as she beat Steve again at the card game they were playing. 

“Good. Dinner will be ready in thirty then.” Lisa paused for a moment, wiping her hands off on the towel at her waist as she looked at Natasha and Steve. They were both smiling, laughter teasing in their voices. It was like when they had been on the run… They had enjoyed themselves in small moments like this. She stepped up behind Steve and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she kissed his cheek. She watched what Steve was about to play before she changed his play and played his cards for him. 

She whispered his next moves to him before she moved back to finish making dinner. Twenty five minutes later, Rhodes was striding in as Steve beat Natasha at the game. Rhodes beelined for the stove, inhaling softly at the scent that was coming off the food. He hugged Lisa tight, and she smiled as she hugged him back. 

“It’s good to see you Rhodey.” She said as they separated and Lisa finished getting the food plated. “Hey Nat, Steve, can you set the table please?”

Rhodes helped Lisa finish up with the food, and carry it over to the dining room table as Steve and Natasha got the table set. Lisa sat next to Steve and dinner was good, laughter and stories being shared. Lisa and Steve told the other two what they had been up to, how they were coordinating with the locals to be able to help them heal and move on, while Natasha told them what was happening around the world and even off planet. Rhodes was oddly quiet, but none of them had to ask. They all knew what he was doing, who he had been tracking. 

Once dinner was over, and cleaned up, they settled in to play cards with each other. 

“Have you heard from Tony recently Rhodey?” Lisa asked softly. 

“Yes, Morgan is turning out to be a very bright young girl. Heard Pepper’s currently winning and Morgan loves her 659.” Rhodes replied, just as quietly to her. They both knew Steve could hear them, but were trying to keep the conversation quiet anyway. 

“That’s adorable. If you’re talking to him again… please let him know I’m forever grateful.” She said before she reached out and patted his forearm. 

“I will, promise.” Rhodes grinned at her, and dealt out the next hand. As they played conversation turned towards how they were all doing. 

“How are you two doing?” Natasha asked. 

Steve and Lisa looked at each other, both gave a small sigh before Lisa leaned her head against his shoulder, keeping her eyes on her own cards. “We’re okay…” Lisa said as Steve leaned down and kissed the top of her head. 

“But we just feel like we’re just drifting.” Steve looked at his cards before he started to play his hand out.

Lisa sat up properly before she nodded in agreement. “It’s weird. We’re helping people… Running the groups, helping connect people with job opportunities, and housing… But it just feels like we’re not done. Like we’ve left something… unanswered.” Lisa set her hand down before she pinched the bridge of her nose, giving a small sigh.

Natasha nodded her understanding. “Yeah, that’s about where I’m sitting. Never thought I’d be getting situational reports from outer space let alone from a talking racoon.” The table laughed as they continued to play. 

Rhodes looked over at Natasha who nodded. “Are you two feeling up to hearing what I’ve been up to?” He asked, looking over at Steve and Lisa, who both nodded.

Rhodes told them about tracking Barton, and Lisa’s hand went to Steve’s, lacing their fingers together. Even just the mention of his name, her leg ached, despite the fact that she had been nearly a year recovered from the injury. The areas that Rhodes described were gruesome, and it left them all feeling a little hollow to know that one of their own had fallen so far… But they also knew that there was a very good chance that had the same situation had happened to them… they may have turned out the same way.

It casted a rather somber tone over the rest of their night, and even though they continued to play cards, their conversations turned to how they could possibly handle Barton. They didn’t wind up with a concrete plan of attack, but had a few ideas to play through with, but none of them were great. When the night wound down, Steve and Lisa drove back to their apartment in Brooklyn. 

“You know… She’ll send Rhodey back out after Barton… and then she’ll be leaving herself there alone again. It can’t be good for her…” Lisa watched the lights of the city drawing closer to them. 

“I have a group session on thursday. I can go back out after that to check on her?” Steve offered, one hand on the wheel, the other laced together with Lisa’s. 

“Yeah… maybe invite her to come spend the weekend with us in Brooklyn at the apartment? Might do her some good to get her away from the compound for a while.” Lisa glanced over at Steve, seeing him nod.

“I’ll kidnap her if I have to.” He joked, giving her a quick glance. Lisa was laughing as he said that and settled back in her seat. 

“If you have to resort to that, I would highly suggest being careful. Don’t want you to get hurt.” Lisa turned her attention back to their route, and smiled softly to herself. The trip back and forth to the compound was one of her favourites. Normally they’d have taken their bikes, but both of those vehicles were in storage until the weather warmed up. 

Lisa’s week got busy. She had enough requests to start up another help group, and got the area picked, the food settled and met with the group that wanted to talk. She smiled at all of them as she talked over their issues, how they were having problems keeping steady jobs, or making connections. She talked a little bit about herself, had only introduced herself as Sordes, keeping her personal life out of the group. But she did talk about what had transpired between her and Steve, leaving out their names, telling them how sometimes they might have to make difficult decisions to get through to their partners. 

There were plenty of tears, lots of distress. But everyone told her that they felt better knowing that they now had a support group there to help them. Lisa was all smiles, and she felt better after that session then she had in a very long time. 

She went home, picking up dinner from their favourite pizza place. Steve was working on the computer getting the plans settled for the weekend to take Natasha around when she got in, and she set the pizza down on the coffee table before she went to get Steve a drink, and leaned in to kiss his cheek softly. 

“Hey sweetheart.” He said as he stopped what he was doing before he turned to pull Lisa down for a proper kiss.

“How was the day?” She asked, handing him the beer. 

“Good. How was the session?” Steve looked up at her and stood up, moving to the living room with her. 

“It was great. Made some good progress with those that arrived tonight. Helped them through most of their problems, at least those that they wanted to share, before we called it a day.” She grabbed a piece of pizza while she talked, and hissed softly as she bit into the hot pizza. She opened her mouth and had to inhale over it before she had it cooled enough to eat. 

“That’s great to hear. I was thinking perhaps we could go to Coney Island this weekend, and have fun.” He watched Lisa with a small grin. 

“That sounds like a great weekend. Hopefully Natasha won’t give you too much problems getting her here.” She leaned back into the couch next to him, turning the television on, and settled in to watch the new episode of their show that they were watching. 

By the time Thursday rolled around, they had their surprise weekend ready for Natasha, and Steve ran his session before he headed to the compound to go check on Natasha and invite her for the weekend. 

Lisa was getting worried when Steve wasn’t back by midnight. She had been reaching for her phone to call him when it went off with a call from him. Her brows furrowed as she answered. “Steve, what’s going on?”

She paused, listening to what he told her. 

“Wait, wait, slow down. Scott Lang, Ant-man, wasn’t snapped?!” She asked.

There was another pause during which she heard Scott in the background, mentioning that he was still starving even after that sandwich. “Okay. Give me… uh… three hours. I’ll be there as soon as I can. How were the roads?” She asked, switching her phone call to the ear piece she had for it. 

“Okay. So they should be safe enough for the bike. It’ll take me a half hour to get our stuff, then I need to get the bike outta storage. I’ll see you in three and a half hours, and I’ll bring something to make for Scott. Yup. Uh-huh. Love you too sweetheart. See you soon.” As she talked, she was throwing clothes and their suits into the panniers she would put on her bike before she grabbed her helmet, jacket and the rest of her leathers for safety. She looked at her construction boots for the first time in a long time before she removed her socks and slid her feet into the boots, and laced them up. It felt a little bit like coming home, and she grabbed the bags, before she locked up the apartment and ran to the storage unit that they were paying for to store their bikes. True to her word, she was on her way in a half hour, and on her way to the compound. She only stopped long enough to pick up fresh food before she was on her way again.

When she arrived, she was let in, directly into the garage. She grabbed her bags and ran into the compound, stopping when she reached the kitchen where Scott was fidgeting in his seat. She tossed the bags on the table, her helmet slid onto the table next to it, and she wrapped her arms around him. He was laughing as he hugged her back. 

“Good to see you again Lisa.” 

“Oh Scott, it’s so wonderful to see you. Let me get you something more than the sandwich I’m sure you stole from Nat, and get her something to eat as well. Where are Steve and Nat anyway?” Lisa said as she moved to start making something quick but filling. 

They talked while Lisa made food, Scott having a slight issue with repeating himself and stuttering. She asked questions as he talked to her about his idea, about performing a time heist. She made the comparison to the JJ Abrams Star Treks, and he nodded emphatically. Lisa mulled it over in her head, but it was well out of her realm of expertise. It sounded fundamentally possible, but they’d have to talk to Tony or Banner to be sure. 

Lisa set the food down in front of Scott before she went looking for Steve and Natasha who were just wrapping up the calls. She called them for something to eat, and looked at both of them, seeing something that she hadn’t seen in either of them in a very long time. 

It was hope. They both had hope.


	34. Getting the team together

Lisa looked up at Steve as they stood in the common room after Natasha and Scott had gone to bed. He looked more awake and alive than she had ever seen him in the last five years, despite being up almost twenty four hours. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, looking at him with a small smile. “How are you feeling?” 

“Good. Very good.” He replied as he wrapped his arms around her back and leaned down to press their foreheads together. “I have hope, even if it doesn’t work out, we’ll know for sure. Maybe that’s what I needed. To know for sure that this was it.” His voice was soft, and he closed his eyes before he sighed softly. “I thought I had let it go enough...But seeing Scott… It was like a breath of fresh air.”

“It’s okay Steve, I understand. Come on, we’re setting out early to go see Tony, let’s get some sleep.” She smiled at him, and gently tugged him towards the room that they had shared before.

Lisa was seated in the backseat of the car as Steve drove them to Tony’s cottage. She stepped out, and saw Morgan and Tony walking up the steps to the porch. Lisa stepped up next to Steve, and slid her hand into his. “Come on Steve, you can do this.” She whispered to him and he smiled back at her, before he walked forward with Scott and Natasha trailing them. Lisa smiled at Morgan who looked at her a little shyly. 

“Tony, is Pepper inside?” She asked. 

“Uh, yeah. Hey Maguna, can you take her in to go see mom?” Tony asked as he set Morgan down on the porch. The young girl nodded, and Lisa had her hand held out which the child took and led her inside. Lisa glanced back at Steve, silently telling him not to get too worked up if Tony said no to helping them. 

Morgan led her to the kitchen where Pepper was making lunch. “Mommy, there’s some people here to see daddy…” She called out and took her hand from Lisa’s to run over to tug on Pepper’s pants. 

Pepper glanced down at her daughter with a small amount of confusion, before she looked up and saw Lisa. Her smile was bright and wide as she walked forward and wrapped Lisa up in a hug. “Lisa… it’s good to see you. I’m certain you saw Tony already?”

“Yes, but they don’t need me hovering there to have a conversation I have no input on. I wanted to come say hi to you.” Lisa hugged her back with a soft sigh. Pepper and Lisa turned to watch them have their discussion through the window, making sure everything was okay. They talked for a little while over things that had happened over the years. Lisa mentioned her and Steve being together and living in Brooklyn, while Pepper informed Lisa that Tony still tinkered, but was mostly happy with his retirement. 

“I hope that us being here doesn’t hurt that Pepper… I don’t know I could ever forgive myself if we hurt you with this…” Lisa said as they watched Tony get a little bit agitated. 

Pepper crouched next to Morgan, whispering something about going to save Tony, and Morgan was off in an instant. Pepper moved over to stand next to Lisa and smiled. “We’ll manage. I don’t think he would have reached out if he didn’t think that they stood a chance.” Pepper put her hand on Lisa’s shoulder before Tony walked back in with Morgan in his arms. 

“I’ll tell you what I told the others, you’re welcome to stay, as long as you don’t talk shop.” Tony said with a smile at Lisa. 

“I’m going to take you up on that offer, as long as you don’t mind dropping me off at the compound later. We all came in the same vehicle.” Lisa said to which Pepper nodded.

“I’ll take you home when it’s time. Promise.” Pepper said as Lisa nodded back.

“Then I will be right back.” She ran for the door, standing on the porch as she heard Scott ask: “A bigger brain than him!?”

“Steve, I’m going to take the chance to talk to Tony and Pepper. It’s been a while, I wanna catch up with them.” Lisa called out to him, and he jogged back over. 

“How are you going to get back?” He asked as he looked up at her on the porch. 

“Pepper said she’d bring me back. See you tonight?”

“Alright sweetheart. I’ll see you tonight.” He pulled her down to kiss him softly. 

“Try not to do anything stupid.” She teased gently, and he chuckled.

“I’ll try. Go enjoy lunch.” Steve patted her cheek before he moved to go to the car. 

Lisa turned back to go inside, and was faced with Tony who was smirking at her, as he leaned against the doorway. “So… you and the capsicle huh?”

Lisa’s face flushed red and she gave a shrug and a smile. “Yup. Going on...God… almost 7 years now? We were together while we were running from…. Well… you.” She stepped up next to him and he tossed his arm around her shoulders as they walked in. 

“That’s impressive.” He said with a small chuckle. 

“It hasn’t been easy, I’ll admit. The last couple years were the hardest.” She frowned a little bit as she moved to sit down at their table, filling her plate as they all ate. The conversation stayed away from hard topics, Lisa didn’t talk shop, and it was all kept to just getting them both caught up with what she had been up to. Tony and Pepper both talked about what they had been doing, and Lisa was enjoying the time spent with them. Morgan got sleepy around mid afternoon and Tony took her up for a nap, before he came back down and he settled in next to Pepper on the couch. 

“I owe you both more than I could ever repay. Having you come out to save me Tony… I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t know if I would have made it.” Lisa’s hands were clenched tightly in one another as she watched him. “I won’t ask you the same thing that they did, because that wasn’t the reason I stayed. But I wanted to thank you both for the help. It really showed me what was happening with all of us… and most of us were able to take the steps to fix the issues of what was going on.” 

Tony smiled at her and nodded. “Rhodey has been keeping us updated on what has been going on. I’m sorry about what Barton did to you.” He kept his voice low so that they wouldn’t wake up Morgan from her nap. 

“Me too… but it really opened things up between Steve and I… We talked about a lot of things that were stilted between us.” 

Pepper gave a pointed look at Tony who gave an expression as if he had never had that problem in their relationship ever. Lisa gave a small laugh as she relaxed back into the seat she was sitting in. 

“Pepper, do you mind if we head out? It’ll get you back before dinner.” She asked. 

Pepper nodded, gave Tony a short kiss before she got to her feet. “Sure Lisa. Let’s go.” 

She drove Lisa back to the compound, the pair talking over what they had been up to, just them. Took a chance to complain about their partners, good natured complaining about the two high strung Avengers. Lisa was dropped off well before the others arrived back with Bruce. She puttered around, doing some basic cleaning. 

When the others arrived back they had Bruce Banner in tow. Lisa was in the process of drinking from a glass when she stopped, mouth slightly opened, and just staring up at Bruce. She put the glass down without drinking and managed to get her mouth closed despite her shock. “So you’re the Hulk… permanently now?” She asked softly as she stepped up to Bruce. 

He nodded and smiled. “Yes. No longer the problem, just a peaceful cohabitation.” Lisa smiled up at him and they hugged for a moment before it was onto set up with Scott’s van to test the time travel theory. Lisa stood off to the side, watching the absolute shit storm that was making time travel work. Steve looked frustrated, and Lisa shook her head. She moved off to make food, since that would be in everyone’s best interest, figuring the tacos would be best. Let everyone make something they’d enjoy. 

She heard movement behind her, before she turned and watched Steve walk in with the shield. Her eyes went wide as she stared at it for a moment before she ran over to him and threw her arms around his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around. “Do you feel better with the shield?” She asked, looking down at him. 

“I do. Much better. Plus Tony says he’s got it figured out. A time gps is what he called it. Natasha is on her way for Barton, Banner is going for Thor once Rocket and Nebula get back.” Steve set her down before he took the shield off, placing it on the table. “I can’t cook worth a damn, but I can help with prep. Tony’s discussing with Dr. Banner about the logistics of what we’re doing, plus a new platform. Leaves the soldier a little outta place.” 

Lisa grinned and nodded. “Okay Captain, start chopping lettuce. We’re making tacos.” 

Lisa and Steve moved around each other with practiced ease, setting up the taco bar before they called for everyone to come eat. As they did, they got the notification that Rocket and Nebula were almost back. Scott and Bruce were first up, getting their food ready. Scott wanted to take his food out to the landing field next to the building so that he could enjoy the sun. Lisa kept everything stocked with Steve’s help and soon Nebula was entering. 

Tony was seated at the table, eating, when Steve and Lisa were able to join him. The trio talked over things that had been happening. Steve told Lisa what Tony had said about bringing everyone back because he couldn’t lose what he had. Lisa nodded, understanding what Tony wanted entirely. Once everyone had had their fill, Lisa set about to clean up the kitchen so that Tony didn’t complain about how they were leaving the compound. 

Barton and Natasha were the first to arrive back and Lisa was sitting next to Steve in the common room, curled up and reading as Steve, Rhodes and Tony kept talking, sipping on drinks. Lisa glanced up as Natasha and Barton walked in, her eyes catching Barton’s and they went hard. Steve’s arm went around her waist and held her close, but also prevented her from doing anything stupid. Conversation in the room stopped, as Barton and Lisa stared each other down, Barton looking sorry for what he had done, and Lisa angry over what he had done. This felt a lot like her reactions to Wanda all over again. 

Barton strode forward, Natasha following behind him. His look was different, and Lisa shifted up to sit up more, Steve shifting her just a little bit closer to him. Tension was rising in the room before Barton went down to one knee in front of the couch Lisa was sitting on. 

“I can’t take back what I did to you, and you have every right to still be pissed off at me. Lisa I am so sorry, for my actions, my words. Nothing I say will undo it, but I was so lost in my grief, that I couldn’t tell friend from foe. I won’t ask for your forgiveness, but I do acknowledge my own faults. I am so sorry.” 

Lisa regarded him, before she gently tapped Steve’s arm to let her go. She slipped down onto the floor and hugged him. “I forgive you Barton. But you ever hurt me like that again...” She let the threat linger before she leaned back, seeing that familiar smile on his face. Lisa reached up to cup his cheek before they hugged again.


	35. Time Travel and a question

Lisa and Steve threw themselves into helping craft the platform so that they could get it set up. Once it got past the point where Steve and Lisa were able to help, they moved over to help with the suit and see how it was coming. Barton had volunteered for the test run, and everyone was anxious for the results. A part of Lisa was more worried then she admitted to, and she settled into helping mode, making sure everyone had what they needed. She kept glancing at Steve whenever they were in the same room, a fear she didn’t want to articulate settling deep in her chest. 

The team met up around the platform as Barton got up there to run the only test run they had the materials for. Lisa stood next to Steve, and held his hand as they watched him disappear, and then just moments later, reappear and drop the baseball glove he had brought back. It had worked. 

Then it was long hours talking about what they were going to do, and how they were going to get the stones. They all gave what information they could, with Lisa asking questions as she had them, but mostly taking notes. 

It was late into the night when she felt herself being shifted. She startled awake, realizing she was up in Steve’s arms, and being carried back to their room. 

“I fell asleep?”

“Yeah. Figured you’d be more comfortable in the bed then sprawled over the arm of the couch.” He said softly. 

She mumbled something incoherent even to him and just snuggled back into his arms. Once they were back to their room, Steve set Lisa on her feet, keeping his hands on her hips as she swayed and leaned against him.

“Something’s wrong sweetheart… I’ve seen it every time you’ve looked at me since Barton got back from the test run.” Steve watched her, slowly walking her back to their bed. 

“I don’t… I don’t want to talk about it.” She said, keeping her head down and her gaze on the buttons of his shirt. 

“We should though…” He gently coaxed as he tilted her head back to look at him. 

“Steve… I don’t… I don’t want to make…” She looked up at him as she backed herself up onto the bed more before she toed her shoes off and sat cross legged on the bed. Steve just sat down next to her, one leg up on the bed, and the other over his ankle. He waited for her to put her words into order, his hands holding hers, and running his thumb against the back of them. She looked like she was a breath from breaking down, and he didn’t know why. 

“It’s not fair of me to ask you to make a choice. I wouldn’t be the woman I am if I did… But I can’t help but think about it. It’s been bothering me all afternoon and all night. I tried to just focus up on the meeting, but it was hard as everyone talked about the stones and time travel.” She swallowed, before she had to look away from him for a moment. When she spoke again, she was facing him head on. “If you could go back, with no consequences… would you?” She whispered, as if she said it any louder she would shatter the room. 

Steve froze, having been so focused on what they were looking to do, to bring everyone back, that the idea hadn’t even occurred to him. “I...I don’t know.” 

* * *

_ If you could go back, with no consequences...would you? _

Lisa’s question was almost haunting, and he wished he could have told her truthfully that he wouldn’t go back. But he really didn’t know the answer to the question, and it concerned him. Would he leave her here after the last 7 years together? And if this worked, could he in good conscience go back to the past, knowing everything he knew?

How would the world change if he went back and stayed? Would Peggy continue her work? Would she agree to settle down with him once the war was over? What would he have done with his life? Christ did he even age? His mind wandered after kids, but he didn’t let himself consider that option for too long. 

Steve laid in bed next to her, and watched her sleep, her head pillowed on his shoulder, and her hand on his chest over his heart. It was a familiar feeling, how she slept next to him like that. He needed less sleep then someone who wasn’t a super soldier, so he had plenty of time to think, and to familiarize himself with her features when she slept. How she would lean closer to him when things were going nicely in her dreams. How she could sense, even in sleep, if he was feeling distressed and would run her hand over his chest. 

Could he have that with Peggy? Would that all work out the way that he had thought it would? He didn’t have a definitive answer… but would it haunt him if he didn’t find out? He didn’t feel himself tense up until he was relaxing back as Lisa pressed her lips to his shoulder in her sleep. 

And ultimately… Did he want to give up the sure thing he had here with Lisa?

* * *

Everyone’s tasks were assigned, Bruce, Tony, Scott and Steve going to New York during Loki’s attack for the Time, Mind, and Space stones. Natasha, Barton, Rhodes, and Nebula headed for the Power and Soul stones. Which left Lisa, Thor and Rocket for the Reality stone. Lisa glanced at Steve who nodded at her. They were all suited up, and ready to go, synced up their gps and took off. Lisa kept sight of Thor and Rocket as they travelled, and once they arrived, she glanced down at her suit she was wearing, hitting the cloaking device for it. She looked like she was from Asgard, thanks to some of Thor’s information about what the clothing would be. 

She kept her mouth closed as Thor started to lose his grip, and once he seemed to get himself under control, the trio headed for the room where Jane was staying in. Rocket was speaking before they both glanced behind them when Thor didn’t answer. Thor was gone. Lisa swore softly before she looked down at Rocket. 

“We’ll find him after. We got a mission to complete. Think you can keep her distracted long enough?” He asked, his paws on his hips. 

“Guess I’ll have to won’t I?” She replied as she led the way into the room, shoving the doors open enough to let herself and Rocket slip in. 

It took Lisa a moment to find her, and attempted her best fake Asgardian accent, which truly was atrocious, but Jane responded as if she couldn’t tell the difference. She didn’t look at Rocket, but she could feel him rolling his eyes at her. She kept up the discussion with Jane before Jane gave a small cry of pain, before Rocket gave her the thumbs up from behind the woman. 

Lisa tried to get her to calm down, but it was well past the point of calming down. Lisa put what little training she had learned from Natasha to quickly put Jane unconscious before her and Rocket were running, Asgardian guards chasing them through the halls until they burst into a room they were sure was empty, closing the door, and running further in. 

They slowed down, when they realized that Thor was talking to an older woman, who bore a striking resemblance to him. “Ah… you must be mom.” Rocket said, as they both scrapped a bow to her. “Thor, we have to go. We’ve got it.” He held the canister with the reality stone in it.

“Right, of course.” Thor said as they all went back to their travel suits. They were about to sync up and leave when Thor told them to wait for a moment and held his hand out. Both Rocket and Lisa were confused, looking at each other. 

“It sometimes takes a second.” The woman smiled and nodded. There was the sound of something flying through air, before Mjolnir was in Thor’s hand again. Lisa nodded to the other two and they all synced up, before the helmets were over their faces, and they were gone again. When they arrived back at the platform, Lisa looked around at how happy everyone was… except they were missing one person. 

“Clint? Where’s Nat?” Bruce asked. All Clint could do was shake his head. It threw a somber tone over their victory. Lisa was the first to move off the platform, heading to get out of the suit, and get herself something to eat. There were plenty of leftovers from the order they had done while planning, and she needed to eat something. 

* * *

Everyone settled in to recover after their brush with time travel, hearing about the issue that had occured in Steve and Tony’s run, and how they had managed to get it all back. It made things more difficult when the stones had to go back, but they would figure it out. 

Lisa fell asleep next to Steve on the couch, while Tony, Rocket and Bruce were working on putting the gauntlet together. When she woke up, she was laying down on the couch, with Steve’s leather jacket over her. She sat up, giving a small groan as she rubbed her eyes. She didn’t miss this about being an Avenger. The whole having to be up and going at a moment’s notice. She wasn’t even sure what had woken her up, since she could hear Tony and Bruce arguing in the workroom, and others moving around and talking. Clint was off on his own, staring at the wall. Rhodes was reading up on the information they had on the stones, trying to figure out who could possibly wield the power, Scott was fast asleep on another couch, and Nebula… she was watching intently for what the brains were doing. Lisa’s eyes narrowed a little bit, blinked before rubbing her eyes, and when she opened them again, Nebula was moving around. 

Lisa frowned before she pulled the jacket on properly despite that it dwarfed her smaller frame. It smelled like Steve, and that alone helped settle her mind a little more. She got to her feet, and moved over to where the others were gathered in the common area. The pool table, and various other games were available for use, and from her vantage on the second floor where the lounging area was, she could see Steve, and Thor playing pool and talking. She smiled a little bit before she moved down next to Steve, as he lined up the shot to sink the 8 ball. 

He held his arm out and she fit herself underneath his arm and leaned against him. He looked tense, and she ran her hand over his back and he leaned down and pressed his lips against her hair. 

Thor watched them with a smile on his lips. “You two look good together.” 

Lisa smiled at him and glanced up at Steve, who also looked happy before he looked back at Thor. He was still tense, and she could feel it against her side and under her hand on his back. He had seen someone when he was in the past, and he hadn’t told her who it was. 

“Thank you Thor. She’s been a great addition to not just the team but my life.” Steve said as he ran his hand up and down her upper arm. 

“It’s been tough, but nothing worthwhile is easy.” She smiled widely and leaned her head against his shoulder. Steve nodded in agreement before he glanced down at her. 

“Do you wish to join us Lisa?” Thor asked leaning against the pool table. 

“No, I think I’d like to just watch, if that would be okay?” She asked, smiling at the other man. 

“Of course. It’s your turn to rack them Steve.” Thor gestured to the table and Steve nodded, disengaging from Lisa and moving to set up his and Thor’s next round. They didn’t get to take the opening shot when Tony was up on the edge of the balcony calling down to them that they had gotten it together and to suit up. 

Everyone went for their suits, and got dressed, before everyone was standing in the room where they had the gauntlet prepared. Lisa was standing there next to Steve, with Clint on his other side. There was discussion over who should use the gauntlet, before it was decided that Bruce would be the one to do their snap. 

“Remember, bring everyone to now. Hey Friday, activate the barndoor protocol.” Tony said to which Bruce nodded and slid his hand into the gauntlet as the compound finished securing itself. Lisa’s hand immediately slapped her hand back onto the wall, feeling how the metal in the building shifted and moved. Steve’s arm went in front of her, ready to grab her and pull her to safety if something went wrong, and Clint hunkered down next to him. 

Bruce was crying out in pain as his body tried to control the power of the gauntlet. People were trying to get him to take it off before he told them he was fine, and snapped the fingers of the gauntlet. Lisa turned her face to the side as the light was blinding. There was the sound of the shutters being opened as they got Bruce separated from the gauntlet and his skin cooled down. Lisa heard a phone going off, and glanced over at Barton who had answered it, looking extremely relieved. 

She was about to say something when she heard Scott call out to them that he thought it worked, and followed it up with a sound of alarm. She whirled and dashed for Steve, as the compound took heavy fire.


	36. Endgame Pt 1

The building shook and shuddered, and when Lisa reached Steve, she had basically tackled him to the ground, and drew enough environment around them to save them. This continued on until she felt the building stop shaking, patching up holes as they were revealed. Lisa opened her eyes, panting as she looked down at Steve. They were covered in a dome of steel and earth. “You good?” She asked. He nodded, and she shifted the earth and steel away from them, before they both stood up. Tony was coming over with the shield as he looked for the rest of them. 

“You lose this again, I’m keeping it.” Tony smirked at Steve as he handed the shield over. Once Steve had it in his hand, he checked his pouches, making sure that two important pieces that he had stored there were safe. The compass, and a single chess piece, both that he quickly put away again.

“What happened?” Steve asked.

“You mess with time, it tends to mess back.” The three of them moved out to stand next to Thor who was staring at Thanos, waiting for them.

“What’s he been doing?” Tony asked. 

“Absolutely nothing.” Thor looked defeated, but determined. 

“Where are the stones?” Steve kept his eyes on Thanos, but Tony was looking around, for maybe the chance that he could see them, even though it was slim.

“Somewhere underneath all of this. All I know is he doesn’t have them.” 

“So we keep it that way.” 

“You know it’s a trap right?” Thor asked.

“Yeah… but I don’t much care.” Tony spoke softly, looking at the others.

“And he owes us a debt he can never repay.” Lisa’s words were soft, but determined.

“Good, just as long as we’re all in agreement.” Thor’s eyes glowed as he summoned lightning and his weapons to his hands, finally suiting up for the first time in years. “Let’s kill him properly this time.” 

The four of them stepped forward, walking slow as they regarded what Thanos might do. Lisa fell back a little bit, staying just a few steps behind Steve. 

Thanos stood up to meet them, starting to monologue at them, about how his grand design had changed. How he wasn’t going to get rid of half of all life. This time it would be all life. A fresh slate that would never remember what they had had before. Thor had his hands on both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir while Steve checked the straps for his shield, and Tony fired up his thrusters. Lisa kept a few paces behind Steve, as the four of them regarded Thanos. There was a sickening nasty rage that filled the pit of her stomach. 

The tension she was feeling, she could see that Steve was feeling it as well, from the way his shoulders shifted underneath his suit. Steve glanced behind him, catching Lisa’s eyes as she made sure her mask was in place. She gave him the barest of nods before she crouched down and slid her hands into the ground and as soon as Steve braced himself, she set him flying forward. Thor and Tony were right next to him as she tried to open a pit underneath Thanos and make the fight easier. Even without the gauntlet, he was still a heavy match against them. He didn’t fall into the pit, jumping over it and knocking Steve aside as Thor slammed into the ground in front of him, sending him back. Tony was following it up and Lisa was right behind them, throwing spikes of hardened rock forward against their target. 

She kept her distance this time, staying away from Thanos, and providing enough annoying presence to make his life difficult. Lisa watched as Thor was thrown to the side, Tony’s attack blocked and Thanos was charging right for her. Lisa’s eyes went wide, and she scrambled back, before she was sent flying by a hand grabbing the back of her suit and moving her out of the way. Steve was in front of her, the shield up as Thanos attacked. Thanos’ weapon clanged loudly against the vibranium shield. 

She scrambled back to her feet, running forward towards where Steve and Thanos were fighting. Lisa slid around him and sent Thanos up into the air, before Thor and Tony were both there to bring him back down and away from her. Lisa was panting as she got to her feet again, running forward next to Steve, before she nodded to him. He pulled back from her a bit, and she ran in front of him, jumping up to find the shield underneath her feet. Steve launched her over where Thanos and Thor were fighting, and Lisa hit the ground, rolling so that her hands were deep in the earth as she tried to haul Thanos down. 

It didn’t work but she kept trying, kept making herself enough of an annoyance that he was trying to get a hold of her, which was working in their favour as it let the three men focus on attacking Thanos while Lisa worked on evasion and slowing him down. Even with how hard they worked, it wasn’t enough to protect her, and she soon found herself backed against a wall, with Thanos bearing down on her. 

“Catch!” Was all she heard Steve shout before she held her hand out and had the shield in her hands. She slid it onto her arm, and brought it up to defend herself, Thanos slamming into it and sending her a few inches into the ground from the force of his attack. She shoved back, using earth behind the shield to force him back. He kept fighting her down until Tony managed to get over next to her, and helped create distance. 

“Good work, keep it up. Get that shield back to Cap.” He called as he grabbed a hold of the back of her uniform and hauled her into the air to get her out of the spot she was in. Lisa removed the shield and threw it off towards Steve, who caught it and was running to engage Thanos. Tony was about to get her to safety when they were pulled to a stop. Thanos had a hold of her ankle, and Lisa quickly casted her eyes around to try and find out what she could do. 

“Let me go! I got this!” She shouted up at Tony who let her go. She let Thanos haul her down, and slammed her into the ground. She grunted but grinned up at him. “Adios motherfucker.” She slammed her hands into the ground, and let it swallow her up, getting her away from Thanos completely. As she surfaced, Steve was right in front of Thanos again, throwing the shield at him. Lisa was panting, as she continued to do her best to help the others. 

However she had to stop and stare when she watched Mjolnir fly by her and directly into Steve’s hand. Eyes wide, she just had to freeze and watch as Steve wielded Mjolnir with as much efficiency as Thor did… even going so far as to summon lightning with it. Like Thor, she was cheering loudly as it happened. She ran forward as he used the lightning to redirect his shield, and felt hope swell in her own chest. They could do this. They could defeat Thanos, and perhaps even be able to return the stones. 

Her eyes met Steve’s and she nodded to him as she ran forward, seeing Mjolnir flying by her. She jumped up and grabbed a hold of the strap and was dragged after the hammer until it was in Steve’s hand and she was right next to him. Lisa let go of the hammer and stood next to him. 

“That’s new.” She was short on breath, but she felt like it had to be said. 

“I live to surprise.” He said as Thanos got back to his feet, shed his helmet, and grabbed his blade again. “Together?”

“Always.” She replied before she shifted her feet and launched him again, before she launched herself and followed him up, keeping low and out of reach of Thanos. She worked to ensnare him, prevent him from moving too much when they didn’t want him to, and had Tony and Thor in and out of their attack formation as if the four of them had fought together for years. 

Lisa didn’t stop until one attack too many proved fatal. She gave a small shriek of pain as she caught the bladed edge of Thanos’ weapon. He was laughing that he finally caught her, and she was thrown to the side, assuming that she was no longer a threat. The pain was excruciating, reminiscent of when Barton had broken her leg. She rolled, until she came up against a wall, giving a hiss of pain. Her hand covered the wound, giving a soft whimper of pain as she tried to keep herself from distracting the others. They had to focus, had to not be splitting their attention. Her hearing was swimming a little bit before she heard Thor speaking in her ear piece. “Tony, where is Lisa? The ground has stopped shaking.” 

“I don’t know… I’ll find her. Lisa speak up, tell me where you are girl.” 

Lisa could hear the sounds of the vibranium being broken just off to her right. She wanted to speak, but the pain was making it hard to focus on things. She turned her head to the side, and down in a small valley was Thanos and Steve battling it out. It wasn’t really a battle any more as she watched Thanos demolish the Vibranium shield. She didn’t think that was possible… She had watched Steve abuse the ever loving hell out of that shield and it had never ever broken the way that Thanos was literally tearing it apart now. Lisa ran her hand along the earth and when Thanos sent Steve flying, she forced the alien back. Give Steve more time to get back up to his feet. 

“I found her.” Tony said as he landed next to her. 

“No… Tony go help Steve… He needs help….” she whispered as Tony shook his head, and used his nanites to fix her wound. 

“You’re right, he needs help, but he also needs you. Get up.” Tony helped her up to her feet, and as a pair they turned to look at Steve who was struggling to his feet, looking absolutely defeated. Lisa swallowed, feeling that kernel of hope in her starting to wither. It died almost instantly when Thanos’ forces arrived to the surface. She limped a little bit as she moved towards Steve, who had finally got to his feet. He had half a shield, and he tightened the strap, as she stepped up next to him, Tony landing on his other side, and Thor next to Lisa. 

Steve looked at the others, seeing how tired they all looked. But that was all they had. The four of them versus Thanos and a veritable army. 

“Cap do you read me?” The sound of Sam’s staticky voice came through all their ear pieces. It was such an unfamiliar sound, a voice they hadn’t heard in 5 years. But both Steve and her looked at each other with hope. 

“Cap it’s Sam, can you hear me?” They both lifted their hands to their ear pieces as if that would make the voices clearer as Sam spoke again.

“On your left.” They turned around and saw the forces from Wakanda, along with other allies from across the universe arrive through portals courtesy of Dr. Strange and the others of his society. There was an invigorating feeling as they all arrived, ready to fight for earth’s life. Turning their attention as Scott got very large, busting out of the Avenger’s compound, Lisa felt her hope bloom once more. 

Steve found his determination, before he spoke, Mjolnir flying to his hand again.

“Avengers… Assemble.”


	37. Endgame Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember what happened during the fight of endgame? Yeah that's still happening. So here's your Major Character Death chapter.

There was a cry of war from all those there, as they ran into engage Thanos’ forces. She remembered how this went, and she wasn’t going to shy away from this fight. Not like she had nearly done before. But this was more chaos then Wakanda. All the people were fighting in a cacophony of noise. 

Lisa slid next to Bucky, giving him cover. There was a brief moment of calm for the pair as the fighting around them cleared. She stood up and panted, looking at him before she just wrapped her arms around his waist and he hugged her for a brief moment. “You better make it through this Buck. I can’t help him if you were to die again. Shit I don’t know if I could handle it.” She said with a grateful smile at him. 

“Not my intention. Go, people need your help. I got this.” They glanced up as Pepper and Tony fought back to back. It was inspiring to see. 

Lisa nodded to him before she was running off, unable to keep herself close to Steve in her effort to help everyone else. She kept the aliens off of her allies as much as she could, killing as many as she could. What Steve and Bucky had said had been true all those years ago. She was no longer anything as simple as a construction worker. 

She glanced to the side as she saw someone running holding onto something. It looked like Clint and she heard his voice through her comms asking what they wanted him to do with those stones. 

There was other conversations, but she just ran after Clint to help him get where he needed, and keep him safe. 

“Clint jump!” She called out to him as she opened up the earth in front of him, and cleared him a path over the aliens she had just dropped into the pit. 

He didn’t miss a beat before he was over it, and there was a loud car horn that sounded off. She ran in that direction as Clint handed the gauntlet off to T’Challa and he started running for the van. She lost sight of him, seeing Wanda taking on Thanos alone. She shifted to keep an eye on her in case she needed help but when the spaceship that hovered over them, started to fire on them, Lisa had to take cover. She heard Peter Parker in her comms, calling for help. 

Steve responded, but Lisa wasn’t too far from the van by this point. She kept running before she saw Peter land near her. She ran forward and slid next to him, covering himself and her with a barrier of earth. For a moment, the ground was shaking and shuddering before everything went quiet and the ship turned to fire on someone else. She dropped the barrier before helping Peter to his feet as Carol landed near them. 

“Hi… I’m Peter Parker…” 

“Hi Peter Parker, you got something for me?” Carol asked as she smiled. Lisa was leaning forward, braced against her knees as Peter handed Carol the gauntlet. 

Peter looked worse for wear, but then again, so did Lisa. Lisa lost sight of the gauntlet after that, and she helped Peter get back up to his feet as the other ladies that had shown up took off after Carol who was trying to deliver the gauntlet to the van. “Come on Peter, I know you’re tired. We gotta keep going. Gotta keep helping.” She said softly, as he leaned against her. 

“Yup, I know. Hey… when this is all over… Can I ask you all those questions?” 

“You got it. I promise.” she said before Peter was back to swinging himself around to help those that needed it and Lisa was running for the van as Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel. Her constant diving into danger had to be a side effect of dating Steve, because she soon found herself just on the edge of the area where Thor and Steve were trying to kill Thanos. She watched as the hold was broken, and Thanos rolled over, slamming his fist into Steve, leaving him laying there. Lisa screamed as she ran forward, Carol a moment behind her before Carol was taking on Thanos herself, and Lisa was sliding next to Steve, watching Tony take on Thanos again. Her hands were frantic, trying to find a pulse, tearing off her gloves in an effort to find it, and check for breaks. Her heart was pounding as she felt her eyes watering. She kept glancing at Thanos, before she determined that he had just been knocked out. Lisa breathed a soft sigh of relief before she was trying to bring him around. 

She was trying to rouse Steve, hearing Thanos speak. “I am inevitable.” 

But when he snapped, nothing happened. He looked at the gauntlet confused, and Lisa stopped trying to get Steve to get up when she saw Tony kneeling there, the stones sliding into place on his hand. She gripped onto one of Steve’s chest straps and lifted him up just enough to bring him back down with enough force to wake him back up. He gasped hard as he woke up and came back into consciousness swinging. Lisa dodged the left hook, and caught hold of his hands. 

“Steve, it’s me. Come on, get up. Gotta get up.” She whispered as he sat up with her help, watching Tony as the stones slid into place. 

“And I am… Iron Man.” 

SNAP.

The light was as blinding as it had been earlier. Lisa and Seve got to their feet, and watched as slowly, all the aliens that were there started to turn to ash. She looked around, victory a welcome feeling after all these years. Steve kept his arm around her, and leaned on her as they limped over to where Tony was sitting up, leaning back against rubble. Rhodes arrived there first, crouching in front of Tony. 

Peter arrived next, talking fast, as he apologized, told Tony they won, that it was okay. Pepper gently pulled him back from Tony before she was talking to him quietly. There was sound, all around them, but everyone who was here, watching Tony’s final moments, were silent except for Pepper. Who told him that he could rest now. That it was okay, and that they were going to be okay. Tears streamed down Lisa’s face and she leaned a little harder against Steve, who gripped her upper arm just a little more. Thor reached up and gently laid his hand on her shoulder, and she reached over to cover his hand with hers. 

Everyone was quiet, except for the sobs from Pepper and Peter. Lisa inhaled softly before she exhaled. “We need to move Steve. We have to finish this… We have to figure out who needs medical help.” 

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll help them. Can you handle the others?” He asked, pulling back from her. 

Lisa nodded and turned to jog over to the others. Bucky was the first to meet her, took one look at her face, and pulled her in for a hug. 

“Is he okay?” He didn’t have to specify. They both knew who he was talking about.

“Yeah, he’s okay. Tony…. Tony didn’t make it.” She whispered, feeling Bucky’s hand rubbing across her back and fresh tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “We have to keep going. Find out our casualties, get medical attention for those that need it.” 

“You going to be okay?”

“No idea. But for now, I have something to focus on. And I have to keep going, I can fall apart later. Much later.” she said as she wiped her eyes and strode forward. Bucky wound up being a constant presence at her side while she started the coordination. Wong arrived as well, bringing her one of the salvaged Stark pads so that she could keep working more efficiently. It took Lisa hours to be able to get most of that done, get some medical teams out there, with help from the other Masters of the Mystic Arts to get them what they needed. There was a lot of portal jumping, and getting Lisa whatever she needed. She briefly saw Steve, or Thor, but not long enough to hear anything from either of them. Sam relieved Bucky, and kept to Lisa’s side as she coordinated. 

Lisa had a moment to herself when she was waiting for reports of injuries from other people, and the medical teams, along with how they were going to handle feeding this many people for a duration. 

She sat in the small command center that had been set up for her to coordinate from. She didn’t know how long she had gone without rest. After all… she had fought alongside Steve against Thanos, then in the large battle… Emotionally, she was heavily drained and she was physically exhausted. She didn’t let her eyes close for longer than it took her to blink, and she struggled to stay awake.

Lisa heard movement outside the command tent, and stood up with a soft groan as she prepared to help someone else. Instead, it was Steve, a bag thrown over his shoulder and some food in hand. He wasn’t clean, but he had taken his helmet off, and looked at her with a sad smile. 

“You did great sweetheart. Time to rest.” He said softly, as he moved in to sit next to her. She gave him a watery smile, before she moved to sit down again. “Will you let me take care of you right now?” He asked.

“Yes please, I don’t know if I could…” she replied softly, before she felt him push her hair back from her face and dug his hand into the pack he had brought with him.

“Is anything broken?” he asked as he pulled out a clean cloth and wet it before he was cleaning her face, wiping away dirt, blood and dust from her skin. She leaned into the gentle caresses, and shook her head.

“No… but I hope you don’t expect me to fight anything for at least a month. My body aches.” she smiled at him, getting a smile back. 

“No more fighting. Not for a while.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, before she wrapped her arms around him and held on. “But you need to eat. Then let Bucky take over organizing this and get some sleep.” 

Lisa shook her head. “I’m afraid that if I stop I won’t be able to keep going.” She whispered, before she took the food Steve handed her. She cleaned her hands before eating, but dug into the burgers and fries that he had brought her. 

“Do you feel up to talking then?” He asked. 

She nodded, swallowing her food. “Plenty injured, more will need intense therapy for what they experienced and coming to terms with 5 years of lost time since we brought them forward into our time.” She replied before he shook his head.

“From today sweetheart.” 

“Right. Okay. 75% of our forces were injured, of those 75% we had… one hundred fifteen requiring immediate and intense medical care. Casualty numbers are still coming in, but last numbers I received put us at just shy of one hundred.” she said before she looked up at him. 

“We won…” He said, his hand cupping her cheek. She leaned her cheek into his hand but she looked ready to cry. 

“I know… but why does it feel not worth it?” She whispered. “Why did we have to give up so much to win?” 

Steve shifted, pulling her into his arms. “Because unfortunately, our victory had to come at a very heavy price.” 

Lisa was quiet, but he could feel the tension in her body as she struggled to control herself. 

“It’s okay to cry Lisa…” He said softly. She gave a watery chuckle, before she rubbed her face against his chest. 

“Only if you’ll cry with me…” 

Grief couldn’t be stopped for either of them as they cried. Lisa sobbed her heart out and held onto him, while Steve kept his grief much quieter but no less heartbreaking. They both cried for their losses, and even their quiet relief that they had made it out together. Lisa eventually cried herself out, but made no move to leave his arms, and fell asleep against him.


	38. Conversations and repairing

When Lisa finally woke back up, she was groggy, disoriented, and sure that everything that had happened the night before had been a dream. She tried to move, but her body just wouldn’t respond. She gave a groan, and soon had a very pristine looking Steve leaning over her. “Hey sweetheart.” 

Lisa smiled up at him, and tried to move again, but didn’t succeed. “Hey… My body won’t move.” She said softly. 

“Muscles all locked up?” 

“Yeah I think so. Hot bath should clear that right up.” She grimaced as she tried to move again. He smiled a little more before he picked her up. They were in a hotel room, that she didn’t remember getting so. “Where are we Steve?”

“Small little motel near where the compound was. When you fell asleep, I had Rhodes and Scott take over while I took care of you.” Steve spoke softly, as he carried her into the bathroom and got her seated on the toilet while he ran the bath for her. Once he had the tub filled and got her settled into it, he sat down on the floor next to her while she reclined in the water. She turned her head to the side and smiled at him, feeling the heat doing wonders for her muscles. 

“What’s the situation look like now?” She asked. 

“Well everyone’s made it out of surgery thanks to your work. And we’ve got good reports about governments getting right back into the swing of things and handling their own recovery efforts.” He reached out and gently cupped her cheek, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss. “You did great sweetheart.” 

Lisa smiled, as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “Did I? Why do I still feel so… defeated anyway?” She asked softly. “Why do I blame myself for not being enough?” 

“Because you’ve been dating me for over 7 years. Come on, didn’t you say I had tried to corner the market on survivor’s guilt?” He teased. 

Lisa laughed a little bit and slid a little further into the water. “I guess.” She said softly, letting the water work it’s magic. Once the water was cool, Steve helped her back out of the tub and dried off before he got her back into the main room and helped her get dressed in some casual clothes. She leaned against him as they walked out to keep up with their efforts. Lisa was handed off to Sam with strict instructions to stay seated as much as possible before Bucky moved off with Steve.

Steve glanced over at Bucky as they walked, giving a small sigh. He looked up at the sky as they got to the edge of the destruction that was left of the compound. They sat down as a familiar construction crew started to arrive. A middle aged man, dark hair that was going grey at his temples, dressed in a set of overalls that identified him as part of Moore Construction approached them. 

“Captain America, do you have a moment?” He asked. Steve stood back up, gesturing to Bucky that he would be right back. 

“Yes, how can I help you?” 

“I’m not sure if you remember me Captain Rogers, but I met you in Washington about four…. Sorry nine years ago.” He said as he held his hand out. “My name is Randy Moore.” 

“Randy… It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance for real this time. Lisa has spoken quite highly of you over the last five years.” Steve shook Randy’s hand as the other man smiled wide. 

“I’m glad that she kept me close to her heart during these trying times. She is okay right?” He asked softly leaning a little closer to Steve.

Steve nodded and smiled at him, his other hand reached up and gently patted his shoulder. “Yes, she’s okay. Very sore today after all the fighting we did yesterday. She’s in the command center if you want to go see her.”

“I will do that as soon as I get my crew started. Thank you for keeping Lisa safe all these years…” 

“She did more to keep me safe then I did if I’m honest.” Randy nodded, and stepped back before he turned to yell for his men to get started. 

Steve moved back to sit down with Bucky who leaned forward to look. “Who was that?” He asked. 

“Randy Moore. The man that is basically Lisa’s brother. She was pretty torn up when she found out he was snapped. He employed her for years, and I know if she wasn’t so exhausted, she’d be out here helping him fix the compound. She’s really good at it.” Steve said as they watched the team move in to start removing rubble and see what could be salvaged. 

“Hmm… looks he called in his entire team for this.” Bucky looked at all the trucks pulling in and the people piling out of it. 

“His company is nationwide… I’m surprised that he got them mobilized this fast.” Steve said, watching the efficiency of how the group worked.

“Lisa must have pulled some rank to get them moved out here.” Bucky hummed a little bit as he leaned back as he looked at the sky. 

Steve leaned back and laid in the grass next to him. “How are you feeling?” He asked softly. 

“Honestly? Probably better than you and Lisa.” Bucky replied. “What’s wrong?”

“She asked me something… I don’t know the answer to.” 

“Hmmm... Is this like the time she told you she loved you?” Bucky asked as he turned his attention over to Steve. 

“Very similar.” Steve moved his arms behind his head and sighed softly. “She asked me if I could go back in time without consequences, would I? And I don’t know if I have an answer for her. It’s been in the back of my mind for the last few days. I still love Peggy… But I have a life here. 7 years together with Lisa.” 

Bucky sat up and shifted to stare down at Steve. “You had maybe a year and a half with Peggy… This shouldn’t be a question. You would give up a sure thing with a woman who supports you, who loves you... to be with a possibility?” 

“I hadn’t even considered it before she asked me. But after she asked, we went to the past, and we had to fix a mistake that happened. Tony and I had to go back further, and I wound up in an SSR bunker having to hide in Peggy’s office, and I saw her. She was just like I remembered… And she still had the photo of who I was before being… this.” He said, gesturing to his body. “I don’t know Buck… it just filled me with a longing for what was.” 

Bucky sighed before he just leaned back again, laying in the grass next to him. “Look Steve, I will always support you. Always. But you hurt that woman, and I may just have to beat you up for her, since she can’t do it herself.” 

* * *

Lisa was about to order lunch for her and Sam when someone entered the command center and she turned her attention up to look at the man who entered. Her eyes went wide when she was staring at the man standing in front of her. “Randy!” Her voice was nearly a shriek as she struggled to her feet and limped over to him, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her close and swung her around. 

“Heard that you met with Andi and met our son.” He said as he kept hugging her. 

“Yeah they were great.” 

Randy helped her over to the chair and got her seated again before she fell over and he sat down next to her. “Talk to me. Tell me what you’ve been up to.” 

Lisa did. She sat down and talked with Randy about everything that had happened, about falling in love with and dating Captain America. About the five years without everyone, and the years following the snap. Sam brought all of them food, introduced himself to Randy, who was just as starstruck as Brody had been meeting Steve for the first time. 

“Lisa I love you, but this  _ the Falcon _ !” Randy said as he had a fan moment over Sam. Lisa put her hands up in surrender, letting Sam have his moment.

“It’s perfectly fine. I don’t blame you… Sam’s pretty great.” Lisa said, as she just leaned back in her chair. 

Sam grinned over at her, and engaged in the conversation as well, talking to Randy. One of the crew foremans came over to the command center, and asked Randy a question, and Randy had to go deal with it. 

Randy paused at the entrance to the command center and glanced back at her. “Thanks for grabbing the job for us Lisa. Discretion is key, and when you’re feeling up to it… we could use your help, for old times sake. If that would be alright?”

“As soon as the Captain clears me for duty, I’m all yours.” She replied with a wink at him. Randy gave her a salute before he was off to work with his crews. Lisa was happy, and Sam was grinning at her. 

“He’s your best friend isn’t he?” Sam asked. 

“Might as well be my brother honestly. He got married while we were on the run… His wife and he included me in their wedding party. Had a photo of me sitting on a chair. It was pretty…. Great.” She leaned her head against her fist as she smiled at Sam. 

“That sounds fantastic. So everything you told Randy, is that all of it? During the snap?” Sam asked. 

Lisa’s smile faded, before she took her chin off her fist. “No… Not even close. I don’t think he needed to hear about how Steve and I nearly disintegrated our relationship, or how Clint Barton shattered my leg. He didn’t need to know that the Avengers were nearly non-existent during the snap.” Lisa’s voice stayed soft and she looked incredibly sad. 

Sam lost his smile as well, reaching out to gently pat her shoulder. “That must have been tough.” 

“Without you and Bucky… Steve didn’t have a good support system, and I couldn’t handle it alone. We fought, stopped agreeing on a lot of things… it got to be too much when I realized we were enabling his guilt. I walked out Sam. I shouldn’t have. Fuck I still regret walking out… but it made him realize what I had. I just could have handled it better.” 

Sam pulled her in for a hug, and held onto her. “You did the best you could with what we had to leave you with.”

“I know… but I still feel like I could have done more. Even from yesterday, I feel like I could have done more. Been more. Learned how to manipulate smaller portions of the earth, or metal.” She looked down at her hands but leaned against Sam because it was easier than trying to maintain her own balance. 

“I know it won’t mean anything now, but you can’t let yourself dwell on it right now. Don’t get lost in the what ifs or maybe so’s. They’ll consume you.” Sam said as he gently rubbed over her back. “Anything else you wanna talk about?”

_ If you could go back without consequences…. Would you? _

Her own words were haunting her. “No… I think I’m good. We should probably get back to work.” Lisa said as she forced herself to sit back up with a small hiss of pain. Sam let her get comfortable, before they were back to coordinating the response effort. 

* * *

Sam and Bucky switch roles and who was sitting with Lisa part way through the day. Various members of the construction team came through and got a chance to say hi to Lisa before they were back to work. Bucky took a chance when they were alone again to talk to her. 

“You put the idea of going back in his head?”

Lisa’s face scrunched up and she leaned her head down on her arms on the table. “Damn it… he talked to you about it?”

“Of course he did, who else would he talk to!?” Bucky replied as she turned her head towards him. “You realize he hadn’t even considered it before you said anything right?”

“What else was I supposed to do?! We promised each other we wouldn’t keep any more secrets.” She shifted back and sat back in the chair again. “So when he asked me what was wrong the day Barton’s test was successful… and I asked him if he could go back, without consequences… would he? I wasn’t trying to test him, I just wanted to know. I don’t want to ask him to make a choice between me and her. I never made him try to forget her, because pushing that door would result in something I didn’t want.” 

Bucky listened with a soft sigh at the end. “I get it Lisa, I do.” He said softly before he reached forward and took her hand in his. “I want you to know that I threatened to beat him up if he hurt you.” Lisa chuckled before she squeezed his hand. 

“Thanks Bucky. He told me he didn’t know. Then we were in the middle of the mission to get the stones, and then it was bringing you all back, and then fighting Thanos. We haven’t talked about it, I don’t know what his decision is now.” She sighed softly. 

“He still doesn’t know. And I shouldn’t be telling you this, I should wait and see if he talks to you, and tells you himself… but Lisa, he saw Peggy when he went back.” He watched a brief expression of pained emotion run across her face before she was back to being just concerned. 

“Fuck…” She swore softly and gave a small groan. “I never compared myself to Peggy Carter. I knew I wasn’t her, different times, different styles. I never wanted to replace her… but I don’t know if I could handle if Steve picked her over me. Before all this time travel shit it wasn’t even an option. And now… now I stand a real chance of losing him.” She felt tears coming to her eyes and she brushed them away. 

“Shit, I didn’t want to upset you Lisa, I’m sorry.” He said as he reached up and brushed an errant tear away. 

Lisa shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” she said softly. “I shouldn’t have fucking asked him.” 

“Can’t hide when you’re feeling low from him Lisa. He’s stupid smart when it comes to knowing how someone reacts and is feeling.” He said as he patted Lisa’s shoulder. 

“Christ I know.” Lisa sighed a little bit before she glanced up at the entrance of the command center to see Steve standing there. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know you’re upset… and that you shouldn't have asked someone something.” He replied as he stepped in. “Will you lay it out for me?”

“Can… can I wait till tonight when we go for dinner?” She asked, looking down at him as he crouched next to her chair. 

“Yeah, of course sweetheart.” He took her hand and kissed the back of her hand.

* * *

Dinner was eating at a small diner that was filled with construction workers. Lisa and Steve were seated at the far end of the bar, next to each other. Lisa was pushing her food around the plate before she glanced over at Steve. He was giving her time to consider her words, and open up to him. Where they were seated, she had her thigh pressed against his, just to have some contact with him. 

Lisa sighed softly. “You know that there’s no way for me to say any of this without sounding like I’m making you choose right?” 

Steve glanced over at her and nodded. “Yes… I know. But we promised to be honest with each other.” 

Lisa picked up a fry and bit into it before she looked over at him. “So apparently, you can go back… You could have a life with Peggy… I don’t believe that I hold the only rights to your affections or your love… But Steve, it’s been killing me since the fight ended… Even before it.” She turned her attention to her food, before she sighed. “I want you to stay. It’s not a competition… It’s not something I want to try and make you choose… but Steve… you can’t have both. Not technically.” 

Steve’s arm went around her waist, and he leaned against her, kissing her hair. “I know sweetheart. I know I can’t have it both ways.” 

“But you don’t know which option you want.” 

Steve hummed a little bit. “No. I still don’t.” 

“When do you return the stones and Mjolnir?” She looked up at him. 

“As soon as they get a new quantum tunnel made. With Dr. Pym, Lang and Bruce, they’re thinking it will take a week.” 

“Right…” Lisa reached up and pulled him down a little bit, kissing him properly. “I love you Steve, no matter what you choose. And while I may be hurt, I won’t blame you for your choices.” He smiled back at her, and kissed her again, before he gently nudged her to keep eating.


	39. His choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan this, had already started uploading this daily when I found out what day the great Chris Evans' birthday was... well.. today. And it's beautiful that this fic is wrapping up today. So Happy Birthday to him, and woo to us for getting to the end of this fic!
> 
> Thank you guys for hanging out with me for this. I'm going to write more MCU, delve into more NSFW stuff, and work on another long fic like this (maybe not quite this long, but another multichapter fic). 
> 
> I have to thank a friend for encouraging me with this. I originally wasn't going to post it, I've been dry on inspiration for fanfic writing, but this really brought the spark back. If there's a ship you'd like, a fun concept, comment it to me, and I'll see what I can do!

It was possibly their last week together, and they couldn’t even spend it entirely together. Lisa was cleared by Steve three days after their discussion to be able to help Randy and the construction crew get everything set up. Lisa helped the construction crew with moving rubble, as well as fixing the foundation area. Despite the fact that she hadn’t been part of the construction company for almost 10 years, it was like she hadn’t left, even with the new members that had been added since she had left. 

The bare bones for the compound were up in three days, and Lisa had to take the last day to just recover. She promised she would be back to help as soon as she could, but after three days of constantly using her powers, she was exhausted and needed to rest. Every night she would climb into bed, be held by Steve as they clung to some semblance of normalcy. Tony’s funeral was a week after the final battle, out at his little cottage. 

Lisa was dressed in black, stood next to Steve, holding his hand. She was barely away from his side that day, both drawing comfort from each other. There was a point where Lisa had Morgan in her arms, cuddled up and upset. Lisa looked over to Steve, jerking her head to Pepper and he nodded, going over to comfort the woman and give her his condolences. 

“Would you like to go outside Morgan?” Lisa asked. Morgan nodded against her neck and Lisa carried her outside, seeing Happy move to follow them out of the house out of the corner of her eye. She gestured to him that it was okay, but Happy stayed on the porch just to watch in case Morgan needed him. 

Lisa walked over to the edge of the lake and sat down on the rocks with Morgan sitting next to her, and Lisa told her stories of Tony, of her first interaction with him, of how Tony had gotten so mad at her the first day Steve had had her show him her powers out in the yard. She got Morgan laughing with the antics that they had gotten up to, and her mind off of how sad the day was. Lisa glanced back, seeing Steve and Bucky on the porch, watching her. Happy was no longer on the porch. 

“We should head back up Morgan. Your mom is probably looking for you… Would you like to come meet Captain America and The Winter Soldier?” She asked. 

Morgan nodded and hugged Lisa again before she was standing up and Lisa was walking back to the porch with Morgan in tow. Once they got there, Lisa picked her back up and stepped up in front of Steve and Bucky. Lisa did quick introductions and men were all smiles as they waved to Mogan. They heard Pepper calling for Morgan and Lisa set the younger girl down before watching her head inside. Lisa inhaled softly before she felt Steve’s arms come around and hold her close. Tears she had been keeping control over since she had been talking with Morgan spilled over and she quietly cried, feeling the cool metal of Bucky’s hand run over her back. She reached out her hand, and pulled Bucky into their embrace, finding solace in their comfort. 

Sam arrived out on the porch as well, seeing the three of them embracing. “I won’t ask if you’re okay… But are you all handling it alright?” He asked as he stepped up and the three of them broke apart. Steve handed Lisa his handkerchief, and she wiped her tears away, before she leaned against the railing next to Steve and Sam stepped up to stand next to Bucky. 

Lisa shrugged as she wiped her eyes clear before she looked over at Sam and smiled a little bit. “As well as can be expected. It’s not like we haven’t lost anyone… but it’s been more recent for some of us then others. I have a lot of work to do with Moore’s Construction company to get our compound back up, so I have a distraction.” 

Steve nodded. “I’ve been helping coordinate as much as possible, getting them what they need, making sure food is prepared for them at all times. As well as getting them any information they need.” 

Bucky shrugged. “I didn’t mind Tony, but I’ve been around to help those that needed it, including making sure these two don’t over work themselves.” Lisa smiled ruefully at him, and he smiled back. 

“How’s the quantum tunnel coming?” Lisa asked, twisting the handkerchief in her hands. 

Sam gave a look that said he really didn’t know. “Bruce said possibly tomorrow, or the day after that. Given that we can return the stones exactly when we took them, we have a bit of time.” He glanced over to Steve and Lisa who both looked tense. “Why?” 

Bucky shook his head, and put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You don’t want the answer to that question.” Sam looked confused, but didn’t continue with his line of questioning. They went in, bid goodbye to Pepper and Morgan, before they headed back to their accomodations in the motel. Lisa wept that night, wrapped up in Steve’s arms. She said it was for her grief over Tony’s passing, but both of them knew in part that she was lying. But they didn’t talk about it. There was nothing left to say. Nothing she could honestly do to make him stay, and they both knew it. It would be his decision in the end, and even knowing that she supported his decision because that’s who she was, Steve knew that while he could fix one pain, he would cause pain to someone else equally as special to him. 

The day after Tony’s funeral, the call came for Steve that Lisa had been dreading. 

“You don’t have to come with us Lisa…” 

“Have you decided?” She whispered. 

“No…” 

“Then I’m going to go… So that I’m not waiting to hear about it all day.” She stood up straight, pulling on jeans, one of the shirts Steve had bought her and one of his sweaters. Running shoes and then they were bundled up and on his bike riding to where they had the quantum tunnel set up. Sam and Bucky met them there, with Bruce running the machine. Lisa stayed leaning against the bike, watching everything that was going on. Once Steve stepped up on the platform, she moved to stand next to Bucky. Steve looked at her, and moved to the edge of the platform again, crouching for a moment there, and set the case next to him. 

Lisa stepped forward until she stood right in front of him. “Steve…”

“No, let me start, please.” he whispered. Lisa nodded and he continued, slipping down to sit on the edge and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against him as he spoke. “No matter what happens, no matter what choice I make, please know that I love you. I have loved you for more years then I care to count. You were the one who supported me, who was by my side through thick and thin, and I love you. But I still don’t know the answer to your question.” 

Lisa turned her face up to him, and nodded. “Okay… Steve, I love you… no matter what choice you make. I may not agree, but I will always understand.” She leaned back a little more as he leaned down to kiss her softly. His fingers brushed away her tears, and he pulled back from the kiss. She nodded to him and stepped back, letting him leave her arms, possibly for the last time. Her throat felt thick, and her vision blurry at the edges as tears gathered again. She walked back to stand between Bucky and Sam, who both put their arms around her, a silent promise to Steve that if something happened, they would be there for her. She hugged her arms around herself and used the sleeve of his sweater to wipe away her tears. 

Steve stood up, taking the case in hand and picking up Mjolnir before he disappeared. Lisa breathed softly, knowing that the next few moments were going to feel like the longest of her life. 

* * *

Getting the stones back to where they needed to be was supposed to be easy except for the Reality stone, but he managed that with the help of an Asgardian woman who had introduced herself as Frigga, mother of Thor. He left Mjolnir there as well, before he was off to return the Power stone to Morag, and the Soul stone to Vormir. That one was strange, as the moment he got to the planet’s surface and pulled the stone out, it vanished from his hand into what he could only assume was it’s proper resting place. 

His next stop was the times on Earth that he had taken the Stones from. Since one of the three left would be the most difficult to return, he started with that one, which was the space stone to the secret SSR base. He disguised himself again as another soldier, got himself in and out in record time since he didn’t have to wait for Tony this time, and avoided Peggy’s office this time. He didn’t need more reminders of the decision he had to make. 

Then he was off to New York to return the Mind stone and Time stone. The Mind stone turned out to be easy to return before he was standing before the doors of 177a Bleecker St. He stepped up, about to knock when the door swung open instead and before he was greeted by a bald woman wearing yellow. “Ah… Captain Rogers, I had been expecting Dr. Banner.” 

“Yes, well… We had more than just the stones to return, and given that I could pick up the other thing we had to return, it fell to me. You’re my last stop.” Steve turned the open case towards her and she lifted the stone up before she placed it back in the amulet she wore around her neck. 

“Perhaps for the stones, but I’m not your last stop am I?” 

Steve looked at her a little curious as to how she even knew that he had been considering going back. 

“Ah, I see that it has been Mr. Stark that has had the most interaction with Doctor Strange. I am able to sense things, see people’s possibilities. I can see that you are facing quite the dilemma. Perhaps I could help you find your answer.” The Sorcerer Supreme stepped back and held her arm out for Steve to enter with her. 

“I think I need to make this decision on my own, but I appreciate the offer. Just answer one thing, please.” 

“Of course Mr. Rogers. What is your question?” She asked with a pleasant smile on her face. 

“Would there be consequences?”

“There are always consequences to our actions.” 

* * *

Steve stood outside Peggy’s house. He was dressed back in the clothes of his time, even though they didn’t feel quite as natural as they had before. His heart was pounding, he knew she was home. He slid his hands into his pockets, and his hands closed around two things. One was the compass with Peggy’s photo in it. The other was a glass chess piece, the queen. His thumb ran over it, and he could remember every game had ever played with Lisa. 

_ There are always consequences to our actions. _

He crossed the street, walking up the steps, and stood in front of the door. It was now or never. He could stay, have a life, enjoy the age of peace that he had been told he would have had if he hadn’t had to put the plane into the water. He raised his hand to knock, before he sighed softly. 

_ I want you to stay. It’s not a competition… It’s not something I want to try and make you choose… but Steve… you can’t have both. _

Could he firmly say that after having one dance with Peggy that he would be able to leave?

He didn’t know the answer to that question. But what he did know was that Peggy was able to move on, that she was able to find love again, or at least someone that treated her well, and cared for her. Gave her everything Steve hadn’t been able to. She had been happy… 

He knocked on the door and waited. He heard her moving around, and coming to the door. Once it opened, he smiled at her. She looked shocked to see him before she narrowed her eyes and reached for a gun. Steve’s hands immediately shot up and in front of him, pleading with her that it was really him, but he had a lot to explain. 

She didn’t relax her tension, but let him step in. Closing the door behind him, she gestured to the living room, sitting down. “How?”

“You may not believe me if I told you.” 

“I didn’t think turning you into a super soldier would work either, but we saw how that turned out. Try me.” 

“Time travel.” 

She laughed, for a good two minutes at his answer before she calmed down. “Oh you’re serious. You do realize how ridiculous that sounds right? Stark has come up with some amazing things, but that’s a stretch, even for him.” 

“I’m aware. I’m also aware that technically I shouldn’t be telling you these things, but I had to see you.” 

Peggy stood and paced back and forth, her arms crossed and one of her hands waving in the air as she and Steve talked. He kept his details vague, since that would ruin things before she stopped and watched him. 

“So you can tell me that you came back, that you were frozen, but won’t tell me where, and won’t tell me what happens to me?” She asked as she sat down on the chair across from him again. 

“Yes. I can’t tell you, it’s honestly bad enough I’m here to begin with.” He said softly. 

“So why did you come back?”

“Because you’re my number one gal.” He replied, rubbing his palms against each other. He didn’t notice it, but Peggy did, the glass chess piece he was almost worrying between his hands. 

“Am I?” she asked with a pointed look at his hands. Steve glanced down at his hands, seeing the chess piece there. He held it up, and then reached into his other pocket and pulled out the compass. Peggy shook her head with a soft smile. “Whatever has happened in the future Steve… Whoever that represents… That’s your number one. And it kills me to admit it, because I love you… But that’s who you should be with. Not staying here.” 

“Peggy…”

“Steve… if I had been your number one, you’d have had the compass in hand. And...It’s been three years since you went under.” She said softly. 

Steve sighed softly and stood up, pocketing both items. He stepped up to her and held his hand out to her. “You’re right. But I have a promise to keep… that I wasn’t able to. One dance?” He asked softly. 

She smiled up at him and nodded, putting her hand in his and let him help her to her feet, and moved over to turn on the record player. As they danced, they talked. She told him about the man she had been seeing, that it was getting a bit more serious between them, and he told her what little he could about Lisa without ruining things in regards to the timeline. But he knew that while Peggy still loved him, she was moving on. She was moving on with someone he hoped would treat her well, keep her safe, and love her, and he couldn’t step in the way of that when he had done the same thing in his own timeline. Once their dance was over, he held her close for just a moment, relishing in the feeling of her in his arms. It felt good, but not right. Not after seven years of right. 

He took her hand, kissing his knuckles before he moved to the door. “Goodbye Peggy. And remember, you have to keep looking for me as long as you’re able to.” He reminded her, watching her nod, before he stepped out of the door and walked down the street until he was certain that no one saw him before he was back in the time suit and travelling again.

* * *

The moment passed that Steve should have been back and Lisa turned to walk back to the bike, her heart heavy and hearing Sam and Bruce saying that Steve needed to be brought back and that he had blown past his time mark. Bucky turned to go after Lisa, but they heard the sounds of someone returning and Lisa kept her back to the platform, unable to handle the idea that whoever it was, it wasn’t going to be Steve. Her hands were shaking, and she was trying to control her breathing so that she didn’t fall apart in front of the others. 

But she gave a gasp when arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and Steve pulled her back against his chest. “I made my choice, sorry I’m late.” Lisa gave a cut off sob and turned in his embrace, sliding her hands up around his shoulders. She clung to him and he held her close. She felt happier then she had in days. 

“I love you Lisa. My number one gal.” He whispered in her ear, and she swallowed hard on the sob that threatened to claw its way out of her throat. “I choose you. Have chosen you for years.” He kept his voice for her ears alone, and she opened her eyes, looking over Steve’s shoulder at Bucky who was leaning against the platform with a smirk on his face. As if he had known all along that Steve would choose her. 

“I love you Steve. So much.” She whispered back before she leaned back and kissed him, holding him close. 

She finally felt like they had won. That she had won. Steve was with her, and had chosen her. And she was going to cherish that every day, knowing that he could have chosen to stay in the past without her.

-Fin-


End file.
